Tattered Ribbon
by Nicole M. Tracy
Summary: Helga and Arnold are finally beginning to shift their long-time friendship into new and uncharted territory, but if Helga wants to leave her boyfriend, Reggie, she'll have to do so in a body bag. He'll make sure of that.
1. Chapter 1

**Edited: One of my readers made an excellent point. The last part I added to this chapter really didn't flow well so I removed it and added it to the next chapter for better flow. I'll watch for that next time and thanks for the heads up. :)**

The chapel was filled to capacity with friends and family for the event. Flowers and arrangements littered the stage near the pulpit, candles glowed gently in the dim light, and beautiful music played quietly from the church's pipe organ. Tears hung in the eyes of the patrons as they made their way to the pews. Arnold inhaled a sharp, shaky breath as he used the mirror in the near empty hallway to straighten his bow tie.

"This is it." He whispered to himself before running a unsteady hand through his blonde hair. "No turning back." He was startled by a sudden hand on his shoulder.

"You ready for this?" Gerald asked his best friend with a pained smile. Arnold turned back to his reflection and continued to smooth the wrinkles from his best suit.

"Not really." He admitted quietly. "I've been dreading this day for the past two weeks, but there's nothing that can be done now. It's too late."

Gerald squeezed Arnold's shoulder reassuringly. "It's ok, man. We're all behind you on this. You know that, don't you?"

Arnold turned from the mirror to face his friend before answering, "Of course I do. It really means a lot to me that you guys all came."

"Are you kidding?" Gerald accused jokingly, "We wouldn't have missed this for the world."

"You ok, Short Man?" Grandpa Phil peeked his head out of the doorway. "People are starting to wonder where you ran off to. We're about to start now."

"I'm fine, Grandpa. I'll be there in a second."

"Can I have a quick word with my grandson?" Phil asked turning his attention to Gerald.

The teen gave a quick thumbs up. "Sure thing, Grandpa. I'll see you guys in there." Gerald hurried in to find a seat and Arnold returned to his reflection to straighten his tie once more, light reflecting gently off the pink satin.

"Poor confused kid, thinks I'm his grandpa." Phil mumbled to no one in particular.

"I'm not sure I'm ready for this Grandpa." Arnold muttered honestly. "I don't know if I can do this."

"Sure you can, Arnold. Sure you can." Phil assured him. "It's like the advice my father always gave me: Never eat raspberries." Arnold wasn't sure what that had to do with the given situation and didn't get a chance to ask as his grandfather continued, "You can do it Short Man. Just take a deep breath and muster all the courage you possibly can. No matter what happens, your grandma and I are here for you."

"Thanks, Grandpa." Arnold replied meekly. Phil smiled and went back into the chapel while Arnold gathered what strength he could. He took a few deep breaths before grabbing the bouquet of flowers he'd brought with him and pushed open the chapel doors.

It seemed like everyone turned to gawk at him. He kept his eyes glued to the floor making a quick glance every now and then to another teary face as he slunk up the aisle. His shoulders stooped as he trudged to the front of the chapel and plopped haphazardly into his empty seat in the first pew.

Grandpa pulled him close for a quick hug as the preacher rose from his place on the stand and approached the pulpit. He paused for a moment as the quiet chatter ceased, cleared his throat, and took a deep breath.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate the life of someone taken from us far too soon. A bright scholar, a good friend , a sweet sister and a loving daughter. Our very own Helga Geraldine Pataki."

3 Months Earlier-

"Ha!" Helga snarled from behind the catcher's mask. "You couldn't hit the broad side of a barn if you were standing 10 feet in front of it!"

Arnold rolled his eyes bitterly and waited patiently for the pitcher to do his job. He watched the pitcher give a small nod before hurling the ball. Arnold swung for the second time, missing it completely.

"Nice job Football Head. Maybe you should adopt a hobby more your speed, like ballet." Helga scoffed watching as the ears of the young man in front of her turned a signature shade of scarlet.

"Come on Arnold!" Gerald shouted from the bench, "Focus!"

Arnold took a deep breath before taking stance again, the bat barely hovering over his shoulder. He tightened his grip as he watched one side of the subtle conversation between Harold, who stood smugly on the pitcher's mound, either shaking or nodding quietly and Helga who kept herself busy by throwing small clods of dirt at the elongated head in front of her.

"Yeah, Arnoooold!" Harold cooed, "Pay attention so you don't disgrace your friends!" He laughed loudly, shaking his oversized gut like the red gelatin that stained his white shirt.

"Just throw the ball, Harold." Arnold grumbled preparing for the inevitable pitch.

"Fine, fine. Don't get your panties in a bunch, Arnoooold!" Harold stood still for a moment before winding up for the pitch.

Arnold watched carefully as Harold swung his arm across his chest, releasing the large, white speeding bullet. He held his breath and stood perfectly still for what seemed like an eternity before releasing like a slingshot pulled back to its limit. Everyone watched with bated breath as Arnold swung hard, eliciting an ear-splitting crack as the ball and bat connected. All the occupants of the Gerald Field lot watched as the ball flew over everyone's heads and straight for Eugene, playing center field.

"Eugene! You'd better catch that ball or I'll force feed it to you!" Helga screamed at the bumbling redheaded boy.

"I've got it! I've got it!" Eugene declared joyfully as he ran backwards, keeping an eye on his prize. Eugene lowered his mitt just in time to catch a small gopher hole with his cleat, trip backwards and feel the bone-crushing force of a baseball hitting terminal velocity against his skull.

Both teams 'Oo'ed in collective pain felt for Eugene and the very real concussion he'd likely have.

"I'm okay..." He mumbled as the ball came to a halt near him.

"Nice job, Football Head." Helga mocked while watching Arnold's face fall. "Good thing he already has a metal plate in his head otherwise he'd be visiting the morgue instead of the hospital."

Arnold trotted to where Eugene lay in the grass and knelt beside his long time friend.

"Eugene. Eugene!" Arnold called shaking the dazed and confused jinx.

"Oh hi Arnold. Wow, I didn't know you were a triplet."

Arnold frowned. "Game over guys." He called to his friends, "We'd better take Eugene to the hospital."

"Oh no, Arnold...and, Arnold's brothers," He added with a slight pause, "I'll be just fine. I can always use my life alert bracelet if I really need to. I just need to go home and lie down."

"Are you sure?" Arnold inquired skeptically as the other team members gathered around the two of them.

"Oh absolutely, this happens all the time."

"Come on Eugene." Sheena cut in. "I'll walk you home."

"Wow, Sheena, that's so nice of you. See you later guys!" Eugene hollered as he stumbled away, leaning against the brunette for support.

Arnold stood up, holding the ball loosely in his fingers, staring in the direction Sheena and Eugene had gone.

"Don't feel bad, man. This sort of thing always happens to Eugene." Gerald said nonchalantly in an attempt to comfort his friend.

"Yeah," Stinky added in a thick drawl, "On account of Eugene being a jinx and all."

"Well, I'm blowing this popsicle stand." Helga announced with an air of finality. "Come on Pheebs."

"Coming!" Phoebe chirped scurrying to collect her things. "Gerald, are you coming over to my house tonight? I still have the final touches of my science project to complete. I could use some assistance if you care to join me."

Gerald smiled, a slight blush tingeing his cheeks. He and Phoebe had only been dating for a couple weeks and he still felt a little shy about the whole thing.

"I'd love to help, but aren't you hanging out with Helga tonight?"

"Oh not at all. Helga is going to some social function this evening."

"Popsicles. That reminds me. I'm so hungry!" Harold whined.

"Whoa, Helga has a social life?" Sid leered.

"I'm going clubbing dipshit, not that it's any of _your_ business."

"Don't you have to be 18 to even get into clubs?" Arnold asked, handing the ball to Harold.

"I'm not interested in going to any of those sissy clubs, Arnoldo. I'm going to The Shack."

"But isn't that one of those '21 and over' clubs that serves alcohol?"

"Your point?"

"You're 17, Helga.

"Look Football Head," Helga snapped jabbing her addressor in the chest with her index finger, "the day I take moral advice from you is the day Hell freezes over. Fuck off." Helga stormed away as the group stared at her disappearing figure.

Arnold," Gerald griped as the two walked back from the field, "Why Do you always have to set Helga off like that? Why can't you just let it be?"

"I don't know." The blonde admitted, "I just can't help it." Arnold rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully. "Even though I know she hates my guts, I still feel protective of her, like I do with all my friends."

"Why do you suppose that is?" Gerald responded curiously, watching Arnold out of the corner of his eye.

"I-I don't know. I just don't want her to get hurt, you know?" Gerald raised a lone brow, but said nothing as Arnold continued. "I mean, yeah she makes fun of me and throws stuff at me and still torments me even in our senior year of high school, but I still want to help her."

"You're a bold kid, Arnold. I don't understand you, but you're a bold kid."

"Thanks Gerald. I'll see you at school Monday. have fun at Phoebe's."

"Yeah, sure. Thanks man. See you tomorrow."

The music was ear-splittingly loud, just the way Helga liked it. Some weird, Euro-trance blared over the speakers while lights flashed and twirled with the beat. Helga grabbed a vodka test tube from a random table and threw back the contents, making a slight face as the alcohol burned her throat. She leaned comfortably against a wall watching the crowd scream in delight as the DJ changed the song to something that, Helga could only assume, must have been popular.

"Here again?" A voice next to Helga commented casually. Helga didn't have to look up to know who it was. The guy had talked to her many times in the past since she had started coming here. Not that she had ever responded to his questions.

"What's it to you?"She growled glaring at the guy out of the corner of her eye as he leaned beside her, hands in his black, leather jacket pockets.

"Nice to see you too, babe." He replied with a smirk.

"Fuck off."Helga hissed.

The man laughed at her response. He found Helga's callous and aloof behavior rather refreshing compared to the slutty bimbos who practically threw themselves at his feet. Her defenses would be tough to penetrate, but he had always enjoyed a challenge.

"My name's Reggie." He offered his hand in greeting.

Helga looked at his outstretched hand, then up at him, looking him square in the eye before turning her gaze back to the crowd, rejecting his hand. "So you've said before. What do you want a medal?"

"Maybe. I think this is the most conversation we've ever had."

Helga rolled her eyes in mild annoyance.

"You're not going to give me _your_ name?" Reggie asked in an amused tone.

"Have I the last twelve times you've asked?"

"But the thirteenth time's the charm." He replied with a smoldering grin that would have made most girls knees buckle. Helga merely smiled in vague amusement then covered it up with a cough. "Ok, no name, how about a dance?"

"Psh!" Helga snorted, "Not likely."

"I wasn't talking about with me. You probably couldn't dance anyway with how far that stick is shoved up your ass." Reggie replied, changing tactics.

He knew that had worked when he felt himself being slammed up against a wall. "Excuse me?" Helga seethed maliciously.

"Aw, did I hit a nerve, 'Stick-butt'?"

"The name's Helga G. Pataki! And don't you forget it!"

"Helga G. Pataki," Reggie repeated, "What does the 'G' stand for?"

"None of your goddamn business." Helga spat before dropping him like a sack of potatoes.

"Well, that proves it then." Reggie mumbled loud enough for Helga to hear.

"What proves what?" She asked, daring him to insult her.

"You most definitely can't dance."

"Oh yeah? How's this for dancing!" Helga shouted throwing a punch at him. Reggie grabbed her arm and spun her so she was facing away from him.

"Hey! What the hell? Let go of me!"

"No way!" Reggie replied twirling her out and starting to tango with her to music that was obviously not meant for that kind of dancing and the people around them began taking notice.

Helga blushed angrily. "You're either drunk, or really fucked up." She growled as he dipped her.

"Probably the later considering I haven't had much to drink tonight."

"Wonderful. Just what I wanted to hear." Helga said sarcastically as he sped up the tempo to closer match the beat of the techno now playing.

"What are you doing?" Helga snarled covering up an amused laugh.

"Dancing!" Reggie replied as if the answer should have been obvious.

Helga choked back a laugh as Reggie spun her out and back to him so she was once again pressed against him and facing away.

Then as suddenly as he had started a tango, he began to dance in a fashion more appropriate for The Shack.

Helga found herself dancing with him. She had to admit it was much more fun than leaning against the wall all evening, as per usual.

After a quick break for a few more drinks, Reggie and Helga were back out on the dance floor. After a while Helga felt herself getting a little queasy. She had never considered whether or not she would be able to handle her liquor well with the strenuous activity she was performing tonight.

She felt a bead of sweat forming on her forehead as Reggie dragged her away from the dance floor and out onto the balcony for some fresh air.

"You look terrible." Reggie smiled.

"I'll be fine, Jackass. Thanks for asking." She retorted sarcastically, "Just give me a minute." Helga slurred slightly as she clung to Reggie's arm to steady herself. Suddenly her legs gave out and She flopped right into Reggie's chest. He steadied the blonde for a moment while she found her legs again and was able to stand.

"S-sorry." She mumbled, not really thinking about it.

"You should be." Reggie teased, "You're getting makeup all over my favorite shirt."

Reggie ran a hand through his brown hair before looking back to Helga. She was giving him a strange look, as if she had just barely noticed he was there. He gazed back at her for a moment before she promptly threw up on his shoes.

Helga gurgled the mouthwash she kept in her purse before spitting it out on the road.

"How are your shoes?" She asked Reggie, replacing the cap and hiding the small bottle back in her bag.

"Well, they've been better, that's for certain. I'll take them to get cleaned in the morning."

"Aw, poor baby." Helga mocked.

"Baby? I'm not the one who can't hold her liquor." Reggie shot back.

"Well, I'm not the one covered in 'spit up'." Helga retorted.

Reggie opened his mouth to reply, then closed it after a second. "Touché."

They leaned up against the bumper of his car in silence for a moment before Helga noticed Reggie was staring at her. She turned to chew him out, but before she could say anything he covered her mouth with his.

Helga felt a jolt of surprise shoot up her spine causing her to gasp. He took the opportunity to kiss her harder and deeper. She could taste the alcohol still on his breath as his tongue slid over hers. Helga grabbed onto the front of his jacket with both hands and pulled him closer acting purely on her carnal senses and the alcohol coursing through her system. Reggie grabbed a handful of her hair in his hand and with the other he slide his hand up the back of her shirt just enough to feel her warm skin underneath. She moaned in his mouth before releasing her death grip on his jacket to run her hands through his short, brown hair.

Reggie pulled away and looked over Helga's face for a moment. "Hey, what's say you and I go somewhere a little more...private."

"Eh," Helga agreed, "Why not." Reggie released her and ushered her into his car.

"My apartment isn't far from here." He continued. "We shouldn't be disturbed there."

"Are you good to drive?" Helga asked as they sped out of the parking lot.

Reggie turned to face her with a wide grin. "Don't worry about it."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Wow! Thanks for the warm reception guys. :) I'm really excited about this story and I've made a conscious decision to not work on any other fictions until Tattered Ribbon has the final chapter up. I have a few ideas for another one, but I don't want this one to die off because I'm working on something else.**

**Also, one of my readers made an excellent point that the now former last part of the first chapter didn't really flow well with what was going on, so in case you missed my note, for continuity's sake, I removed that part and it is now the first part of this chapter. Thanks for catching that, hun ;)**

8 am, Monday Morning-

Arnold sat quietly at his desk, listening absent-mindedly to Mr. Harrison's ramble on about WWI. The bell had rung fifteen minutes ago and Helga still hadn't shown up. According to Gerald, Phoebe had said she hadn't been home all weekend and her parents were positively livid. Arnold glanced toward her desk, hoping that she had somehow magically materialized since he last looked ten seconds ago. He couldn't help but be worried considering, from what Gerald had said, how worried Phoebe had been all weekend.

Suddenly the door banged open and Helga stumbled in, looking absolutely crazy. Her hair was worn down instead of in her usual pigtails, she wore a black tank top, shiny, leather pants, each ear had three piercings in them, where none had been before, and of course, tied in her hair was her signature pink ribbon. She sauntered in with a smug look on her face before plopping down unceremoniously in her seat, putting her feet up on her desk revealing a pair of black combat boots.

"Miss Pataki, how kind of you to join us." Mr. Harrison scowled. "Put your feet down please."

"Whiney, little bitch." Helga muttered just loud enough for a few students around her to hear, eliciting a few snickers.

"What did you say, Miss Pataki?" The teacher glared suspiciously.

"I said, 'as you wish'." She replied coyly, stretching her feet out under her desk.

Mr. Harrison continued his lecture and Phoebe immediately turned around to face her best friend.

"Helga!" She whispered urgently, "Where were you all weekend? I was so worried!"

"Relax Pheebs," Helga replied waving her hand in a 'poo-poo' motion, "I wasn't anywhere."

"Helga, you had to have been somewhere. You weren't at home, you're parents had no idea where you were and I couldn't find you anywhere!"

"Miss Heyerdahl," Phoebe squeaked and spun around upon hearing her name. "if you would like to finish your conversation with Miss Pataki, do it in the principal's office, otherwise, may I continue?"

Phoebe blushed and nodded quietly as she sunk down in her seat.

Helga spent the majority of the class period making snide comments under her breath and throwing the occasional spit wad at Arnold's head. He turned to look at her as yet another slimy, wet wad of paper rebounded off his ear.

"What?" She hissed defensively.

Arnold rolled his eyes and turned back to the front of the room. _'When will she grow up?' _He wondered bitterly.

The bell finally rang and Arnold stood to shake loose the bits of paper caught in his hair when Gerald approached him.

"Is it just me, or is Helga G. Pataki more pissy than usual?" He asked after parking himself on Arnold's desk.

"I honestly haven't noticed." Arnold replied, trying to contain the bitterness to a degree. "You would think that after elementary school she would have matured a little."

"Hardly." Gerald retorted, not with-holding his obvious dislike for the girl. "This is Helga we're talking about. She'll never grow up."

Arnold frowned slightly as they made their way to their next class. "I don't know, maybe you're right."

"So," Gerald perked up, changing the subject, "You still going to Rhonda's party next weekend?"

"I don't know. Grandpa kind of wanted my help repapering the kitchen."

"Come on man! You have to go! This is going to be _the_ party of the year. From what I've heard Rhonda hired a DJ and is going to have the party catered by Chez Paris."

"Well, I'll try." Arnold gave in knowing he'd have to wake up early on a Saturday to finish on time.

"Cool. See you later man." Gerald and Arnold gave each other their handshake before reaching their Biology class with Mrs. Darwin.

"Helga, honestly, where were you this weekend?" Phoebe demanded. "I was really worried about you."

"Relax Phoebe." Helga replied as casual as if she had been flinging another spit wad at Arnold's ridiculous looking head. "I was at my boyfriend's apartment all weekend. He dropped me off at school this morning."

Phoebe's eyes widened in obvious surprise. "Boy-boyfriend?"

"Yeah, boyfriend." Helga closed her locker and moseyed up the hall, knowing Phoebe would match her stride.

"Helga, are we talking about...ice-cream?" She asked hopefully. Helga looked at her strangely before realizing what she was referring to.

"No, we're not talking about Ar-I mean ice-cream. His name is Reggie. He's in college."

Phoebe felt her knees suddenly go weak, but quickly regained composure and caught up to her friend. "You're dating someone in college? Why was I not aware of this?"

"It just sort of...happened. Besides, dating isn't the only thing we're doing." She replied with a smug, knowing grin.

Phoebe felt her face get hot as she tried not to think about what Helga had just implied. "Helga, how long have you known Reggie?"

Helga shrugged. "I've known _of_ him for a few weeks, but we were never really introduced until Friday night."

Phoebe made some incoherent sound before fainting and hitting the floor with a loud thud. Helga continued on, neither noticing nor caring that her friend was no longer beside her.

Gerald and Arnold sat at an empty table while waiting for Phoebe, and consequently, Helga, to join them for lunch. Phoebe approached first, her face pale and a concerned look plastered to her face.

"Phoebe, what's wrong?" Arnold asked matching her frown.

"Um... well..." She hesitated for a moment as she set her tray down and took her seat next to Gerald. "I'm worried about Helga."

"Yeah, that's right. She wasn't home all weekend."

"Precisely. I asked her about it after class. She informed me she had spent the weekend at her...Well... boyfriend's house."

Both Arnold and Gerald stared in shock. "Boyfriend?" Gerald finally snorted, "You're joking, right?"

"No, Gerald." Phoebe answered meekly. "I'm quite serious."

Arnold took note of the anxious look on her face before interrupting her train of thought. "There's more isn't there?"

Phoebe physically jumped at the asked question, spilling milk all over the table. "Y-yes, there is." She said nervously as the trio sopped up the milk with napkins. "They met on Friday. She knows nothing about him and I have a really bad feeling about it."

Gerald and Arnold exchanged concerned glances. If Phoebe was troubled by Helga's recklessness, then it must have been serious.

"You guys look like someone just died." Helga's voice startled the group as she sat down next to Phoebe and plowed into her questionable cafeteria food. "What are we talking about?"

"Nothing!" Phoebe squeaked. She stared at her tray for a moment before pushing it aside. Helga swiped the pudding off of it before returning to her lunch.

Arnold gave her a curious look. Helga was too busy stuffing her face to notice, but Gerald studied his friend's face for a moment. Arnold looked more than concerned, he looked... pained? Gerald couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"So, Helga." Gerald turned his attention to the once unibrowed bully, "Phoebe tells us you have a boyfriend."

Helga shot a quick glare at Phoebe before answering. "What's it to you, bucko?"

"Nothing. Just thought it might be an interesting topic of conversation." Gerald replied nonchalantly, taking a sip of his Yahoo.

"Y-yes. We'd love to know more about Reggie." Phoebe reiterated, giving Gerald a strange look. "You said he's in college. What is his major?"

Helga cast a glance in Arnold's direction, who seemed to not be paying attention to the conversation and, instead, poked at some gray slop on his tray. "Reggie says he's more 'there for the experience'."

"So, he's not actually majoring in anything?" Gerald inquired with a raised brow. Helga glared at him, catching his tone.

"No. He's not. You have a problem with that, Hair Boy?"

"What about employment?" Phoebe asked, taking the heat from her own boyfriend. "Where does Reggie work?"

Helga opened her mouth to answer when a voice interrupted her. "Reggie? Who's Reggie?"

Rhonda stood staring down her nose curiously at the group with Nadine by her side.

"Helga's college boyfriend." Gerald replied casually. Rhonda snorted back a laugh.

"Boyfriend?" She responded incredulously. "Helga G. Pataki has a boyfriend?"

Helga growled and clenched her fists at her side. "Yeah, what's it to you, Toots?"

"N-nothing!" Rhonda answered defensively. "You s-should... bring him to my party next weekend." She added with a mirthful gleam in her eye.

"Yes." Phoebe added, "I would very much like to meet your, uh, boyfriend Helga."

Helga looked between the two girls then shot a glance at Arnold who quickly looked away. She smirked. "Sure, I'll bring him. Maybe I'll even get him to bring some of his friends." She tried to remain casual at the idea and took a sip of her soda to cover up an arrogant smile.

"Well, that would be just lovely! I'll see _you_ next Saturday." Rhonda concluded with an over-dignified air. "Come along, Nadine. _This_ is simply going to be the talk of the school."

By the end of the day the entire school was buzzing with only two topics of conversation: Rhonda's party and Helga's college boyfriend. Helga basked in the envious stares of her high school peers as she made her way to the front of the school to begin her trek home when she heard a voice calling out to her.

"Helga! Wait up!" Helga turned to see an unusual shaped head topped with messy blonde hair bobbing up and down as its owner ran towards her.

"What do you want, Football Head?" Helga scowled with a slight smirk playing on her lips. She couldn't deny the fact that having Arnold chase after her was especially gratifying. She had fantasized about it for years, though it was usually followed by a heartfelt declaration of his love as opposed to: "Can I walk you home?"

Helga shrugged. It was a start. "Whatever floats your boat, Arnoldo." They walked in silence for a moment. Helga chanced a glance out of the corner of her eye. The expression on Arnold's face puzzled her. He seemed to be battling with something. He must have finally reached a decision however, because he opened his mouth to speak again.

"So, a boyfriend huh?" _Stupid!_ Arnold thought. _I couldn't have thought up a better segue?_ Helga's expression remained neutral.

"Yeah, seemed to have grown one recently. What about it?" Arnold rubbed the back of his head nervously for a second before answering.

"Well... nothing I guess. You two must have been together for a while though if you, you know...stayed over." Arnold blushed a little knowing exactly what that implied. Helga, however, merely scowled in mild annoyance, not sure where her companion was going with this .

"Not that it's any of _your_ business, Bucko, but it was kind of a...heat of the moment type of thing."

"Heat of the moment?" Arnold responded, his eyes widening with surprise. "How so?"

Helga stopped suddenly, looking contemplative for a moment. "Reggie is very...persuasive." She said quietly, almost to herself.

Arnold frowned. "Do you know...much about him?" Arnold inquired, choosing his words carefully.

Helga shrugged again and continued walking. "What's there to know?" Helga replied with an indignant smirk.

Arnold frowned again. "You mean you don't know anything about this guy?" He blurted out.

Helga glared at him. "Look, Football Face," Helga hissed jabbing a finger in his chest as she spoke. "It's really none of your concern is it? If 'walking me home' was really just some code word for giving me the third degree, then you can buzz off!"

Arnold held up his hands defensively. "You're right. It's none of my business. I..." Arnold scratched his head awkwardly. "I'm sorry, Helga. I'm just worried about you." He finished looking up at her apologetically.

Helga felt her heart pound violently in her chest. _Damn him!_ She shouted in her head. _How can he still make me feel like this after all these years!_ Her face softened slightly.

"Forget about it." Helga sputtered out with a flushed scowl after realizing she had been staring. Arnold smiled. They walked up to Helga's stoop and Helga suddenly found immense interest in pulling at a loose thread on her top. Arnold rocked nervously on his toes for a second before releasing a quiet sigh.

"Helga?"

Helga looked up with an uncharacteristically meek look on her face. Arnold realized he had seen that face once before. In fourth grade when Helga thought she had monkeynucleosis and had told him that she thought he was 'ok'. Arnold smiled unconsciously at the memory before remembering that Helga was waiting for him to say something.

"Uh...I'm sorry for giving you a hard time about-um... your boyfriend." He coughed to cover up his nerves. "I just don't want to see you get hurt. I worry about you." He said quietly with a blush.

Helga felt her face heat up at his genuine concern and glanced away shyly before forcing a somewhat annoyed scowl on her face.

"Well, Arnoldo, I appreciate the sentiment, but quite being such a worry wart. I know what I'm doing." She replied with a huff.

Arnold sighed. "Whatever you say, Helga."

Helga pretended to pick at a bit of a hangnail while she watched Arnold walk around the corner and out of sight after which she relaxed her face and smiled shyly.

"Worried? About me?" She placed her hand over her heart as if it would leap out of her chest otherwise. She chuckled softly to herself and absentmindedly reached up to play with a lock of hair. He always managed to do that to her. Always managed to make her entire body heat up and her mind cloud over with complete euphoria. She sighed wistfully as the cool spring air caressed her cheek and gently tousled her hair.

Helga allowed her mind to wander and thought back to how she and Reggie had spent their weekend together. Her smile faded and her expression turned pensive. Had she spent that kind of weekend with Arnold she would have died from joy overload, but with Reggie it had been more of a satiation than anything else. _No_, she thought_, not even that._ Perhaps for Reggie it had been a satiation of his obvious inability to keep his dick in his pants, but for her, it was a release of all the tension she had felt.

She had been fighting with Big Bob all week long. Olga had just gone back to university out of state after a weeklong visit and Helga had now become the center of negative attention, once again being compared to her perfect older sister. Helga scowled. Then Miriam had forgotten her coat at the dry cleaners, _again,_ as well as 'taking a nap' in the middle of making dinner and nearly burning down the house.

Helga growled bitterly. All the mushy feelings from having Arnold walk her home had dissipated and she had once again become overwhelmed with her usual bitter and grumpy attitude. She sighed angrily as she opened the front door.

"Where in the hell have you been, missy!" Bob Pataki yelled in her face the instant she closed the door behind her.

"At school, Bob." She spat his name out with venom, as per usual. Her dad crossed his arms, all of his muscles tensing as his fury heightened.

"Don't act smart, Helga! Where have you been for the last three days!"

Her dad had just called her by her name for once. Helga was astounded and stood quietly recuperating for a moment from the shock. Then her eyes narrowed. _He probably only remembered because Olga the golden child would never have stayed out like that._

"Out." She replied curtly.

"Out where?"

Helga glared. "Just out."

Suddenly Bob's eyes widened. "Are those piercings in your ears?"

"What does it look like to you?" Helga answered defensively. She eyed Bob cautiously, gauging his reaction to her newfound rebellion.

Bob's face turned scarlet. It was going to be a long night.

"Out of my way, Geek Bait!" Helga screeched shoving a freshman into his locker. Arnold's head snapped up towards the source of the noise. Helga stormed angrily down the hallway, leaving students cowering in her wake.

"What's up with Pataki?" Gerald wondered aloud.

"I'm not sure." Phoebe said shakily. "But I think we'd be better off inquiring after she's calmed down."

"Hey Helga!" Arnold called.

"Fuck off!" Helga screamed in his face shoving her middle finger up against the blonde boy's nose before stomping away.

"Arnold. Didn't you hear what Phoebe just said?" Gerald asked incredulously.

Arnold put a shaking hand to his chest to calm himself down. "Oh god. I thought she was going to kill me for a second there."

In her classes, even the teachers noticed something a little off about Helga's attitude and each one decided not to push their luck by asking her to the board.

At lunch Helga had finally seemed to calm down a little and Phoebe decided to breech the subject.

"Helga. I couldn't help but observe that you seem a little...tense at present. Do you want to talk about it?"

Helga's hand screeched to a halt in the process of bringing another forkful of some sort of pasta and meat sauce to her mouth causing the pasta to slide off onto her shirt instead.

Helga grabbed her napkin and scrubbed angrily at the stain, only spreading it around. "No Phoebe. I really don't." She muttered.

"Helga, did something happen after I walked you home yesterday?" Arnold asked trying to keep his attention on Helga's face instead of her slowly inching neckline from her tugging her shirt taut.

"Well that's the funny thing about yesterday, Arnoldo. There are plenty of hours left between after school and now for someone or something to piss me off." Helga growled in resignation, tossing the now crumpled napkin onto her tray.

"So what upset you?" Arnold prodded carefully, noticing that Helga's shirt had yet to right itself and was exposing a small bit of her pink bra. He blushed and looked away. _Remember, you're a gentleman._ He reprimanded himself.

"Nothing. Big Bob and I just got into a fight. That's all." Helga replied finally readjusting her top.

"Usually a fight with your parents wouldn't upset you this much." Phoebe said knowingly. "Was this fight different in some way?"

"You could say that."

Phoebe looked worriedly at her hands for a moment before asking: "Is that why you weren't on the bus this morning?"

Helga shrugged noncommittally.

"Is that why you practically tried to murder Arnold this morning?" Gerald interjected.

Helga froze.

"Gerald!" Arnold coughed, nearly choking on his soda.

"You know what, this conversation is over." Helga spat before picking up her tray and walking away.

The trio watched as Helga tossed the remains of her lunch into the trash and shoved open the cafeteria doors, knocking a student out cold in the process.

"That girl could use some serious humbling." Gerald said with a sigh.

Phoebe shook her head in silent agreement. She would never bad mouth Helga, but Gerald was right. At least in some respects. Helga needed to mature and realize that the whole world isn't out to get her, that she did have friends and people who care about her..._and maybe_, Phoebe thought as she turned to look at Arnold. His face pulled into a look of concern while his eyes remained glued in the direction Helga had gone. _Yes, just maybe..._


	3. Chapter 3

Things seemed to have calmed down after Helga's freak out on Tuesday and by Friday things were pretty much back to normal except for one thing.

Helga seemed to be a little more on edge if at all possible. The littlest thing would make her snap and fly off the handle where as normally a good threat would have sufficed in the given situation.

This morning for example, a Junior named Stephen was dragged into the janitor's closet for a massive pummeling for bumping into Helga by accident. Of course it had mostly been Helga's fault for not paying attention to where she was going, but the poor boy ended up at the mercy of Ol' Betsy and the Five Avengers, Helga's affectionately named fists of mass destruction.

Stephen emerged from the closet, his broken glasses dangling from one ear, his shirt collar torn and his eye red and swollen. Phoebe shook her head solemnly as Helga shoved him forward.

"Next time watch where you're going, stupid!" Helga stepped over his crumpled from huddled on the floor and walked passed her friend, who stared at her, speechless.

Class was coming to an end and Helga watched the clock impatiently as the second hand slowly made its way around the stark white face. Helga glared at it, willing it to go faster, but in retaliation the second hand seemed to move slower and seemed to be flipping her off as it did so. Helga growled at it before digging a notebook out of her bag and began doodling lazily.

"So, Helga, how are things with your boyfriend?" Phoebe asked curiously.

Helga turned to face her best friend. "Fine." She replied coolly.

When Helga didn't elaborate Phoebe ventured further. "So, have you gone on any fun dates or anything?"

Helga wiggled her finger in her ear, removing some irritating wax. "Not really." She answered examining her prize before flicking it onto the carpet, "We usually just hang out at ho-" Helga froze for a second before finishing her sentence, "Er- at his apartment." Phoebe didn't seem to notice anything and Helga breathed a sigh of relief.

"That must be a little...redundant."Sheena added overhearing the conversation.

Helga shrugged. "I guess. Not that I care or anything." She answered gruffly.

"Gosh Helga." Lila joined in, "I'm oh so certain that you must just be ever so lucky, dating a college boy and all. It's just ever so cool."

Helga shrugged. "I guess."

Lila frowned slightly as she observed Helga's response. She thought back to her own experiences with being in love and Helga really just didn't seem like she liked Reggie that much. Especially considering how flustered she had been in fourth grade after Lila got Helga to confess her love for Arnold so she could play the role of Juliet in the class play.

Lila smiled a little at the memory.

Helga eyed her nervously for a moment. She didn't trust Lila. Under that sugary, goody-two-shoes exterior that girl was sneaky and far too observant for her own good.

"Yeah, well-" Helga grumbled, crossing her arms, "I don't really feel like talking about this anymore." She turned around in her seat to face the front.

Phoebe frowned. "But Helga, this is the most you've spoken about Reggie since you two started being exclusive. We're all anxious to know more about him, right girls?"

Lila and Sheena nodded eagerly in the affirmative. Helga growled.

"Phoebe, drop it."

"Dropping." She replied meekly.

At lunch, Rhonda and her friends were gossiping anxiously about Helga's worse-than-ever behavior.

"She's a complete monster." Rhonda said crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well, she certainly does seem ever so frustrated by something." Lila responded with an air of agreement in her voice.

"Frustrated?" Harold repeated. "Are you kidding? I've never seen her this pissed off before! She's scary!"

"You're telling me." Sid agreed. "Boy howdy, she's worse than ever. Did you see the number she pulled on that Junior this morning?"

Stinky nodded. "I reckon you're right, Sid. It's probably in our better interests to avoid Helga like Chocolate Boy avoids brussel sprouts."

"She is _so_ uninvited from my party." Rhonda declared flipping her long, dark hair over her shoulder.

"Er-do you want to be the one to tell her that?" Nadine asked hesitantly.

Rhonda froze. In Helga's less than agreeable state there was no way she was going to push Helga like that. "I'll figure something out." She said knowing all too well that she'd never risk her beautiful, three-time Miss Teen award-winning face to Helga's new found fury.

"Besides, I thought you were looking forward to having some cool college guys show up at the party." Sid stated.

Rhonda groaned. Sid was right. Besides having the delightful opportunity to flirt with an older man, college guys at _her_ party would boost her into super popularity, but why did it have to be Helga?

Helga plopped unceremoniously at her seat between Arnold and Phoebe. She raised her fork high before stabbing it into her meal stirring the contents angrily while a low growl erupted from her throat.

Arnold, Phoebe and Gerald just stared as she continued to stir her food with furious vigor, not sure if they dared say anything.

Arnold finally broke the silence. "Um...Helga? Is something bothering you?"

"Besides you?" She growled, her heated stirring completely unwavering at the sound of his voice. "What makes you think that?"

Arnold stared at her tray for a second before pointing out the fact she was mixing her entree with her dessert.

Helga finally stopped and looked at her food. Taco salad and some poor excuse for Spanish rice intertwined with her tapioca. The thought of eating it just to spite Arnold came briefly to mind. Her stomach churned at the visual and without a second thought Helga pushed her tray away.

"Here." Arnold said offering her his tray.

Helga pushed it back towards him. "I'm not interested in your charity." She hissed, eyeing him angrily.

Arnold pushed the tray back in her direction. "Helga, I'm sharing with you because I want to."

Helga shoved it back. "What are you, deaf? I said I don't want it."

Arnold mirrored her action, pushing the tray back in front of her."Helga, would you just lower your pride for one second?"

Helga gritted her teeth. "I don't want your lunch, Football Head!" She could feel her face flushing in anger. She didn't want his charity, why couldn't he just accept that?

"Helga, quit being stubborn!"

Gerald and Phoebe watched in awe at the speed in which these two were moving in their inflexible battle of wills. The tray continued to be shoved back in forth at an almost lightning fast pace. Gerald could see what was going to happen and carefully helped Phoebe to her feet to prevent any possible shrapnel from rebounding onto her.

Just as he did so, Helga shoved the tray back to Arnold with full force. "I said no!"

Arnold, who had been unprepared for the amount of strength which Helga had used, heard a sickening splat and felt warm liquid soaking through his shirt. The lunch room fell silent. The entire student body had been watching this exchange between Arnold and Helga for the past couple minutes and now sat in shock as the tray clattered to the floor, echoing in the hushed room.

Helga clapped her hands to her mouth, all her anger suddenly evaporating into absolute horror. She sat speechless for a moment as Arnold stared unmoving at his shirt, now dripping with slop.

"Helga..." Phoebe breathed in disbelief.

Helga glanced around, noting the endless sea of faces peering at her. Helga swallowed and turned her attention back to the blonde boy in front of her.

"A-Arnold?" Helga mewed quietly, removing her hands from her face.

"Don't." Arnold growled.

"But-" Helga stammered, "But, I-"

"Save it!" Arnold yelled suddenly leaping from his chair, fists clenched and shaking in a heated rage. Helga closed her mouth. She had never seen Arnold this angry before. "Why?" He demanded, his eyes closed as if opening them would release something terrible. "Why are you like this? Why do you treat everyone, even your own friends like garbage?"

"Arno-" Gerald tried to calm his friend, but was silenced by Arnold's hand thrust up in his direction.

"Why do you keep hurting people?" Arnold opened his eyes to look down at Helga. She quickly cast her eyes downward and clasped her hands together in her lap. "Why are you such a- a horrible person?" Arnold yelled, his voice reverberating off the walls.

Helga's eyes shot up to gape at him. Arnold heard a collective gasp from the students around him and that seemed to be enough to snap him out of whatever dark haze he had been in. He shook his head to clear it away before meeting his eyes met wide blue ones and what he had said finally sunk in, the color drained from his face, and his heart dropped into his stomach. He tried to say something, anything, but his voice caught in his throat making a choking sound.

"Helga." He finally whispered, his voice cracked with a combination of shock from the realization of what he had said and emotion from what he saw in Helga's eyes. Tears. "Helga, I didn't mean...I'm so..." He knew no apology could take back his words. He just watched Helga as she stared at him. He wished he knew what she was thinking.

That was just it though. Helga couldn't think. She couldn't remember how. It was as if her brain had been powered off.

She could hear a deafening ringing sound in her ears as she watched Arnold's lips move, no sound coming from them. _Why are you such a horrible person? _The words repeated themselves over and over in her mind. She felt cold all of a sudden. Helga finally peeled her eyes away from Arnold and wrapped her arms around herself, willing the goose bumps on her arms to go down.

Helga pressed her lips into a thin line as she closed her eyes, pushing the tears back, and took a deep, shaky breath. She had nothing to say. There was nothing left to say. She rose slowly from her chair and walked out of the cafeteria and away from Arnold's horrified face.

_What just happened? _Arnold wondered. _Where did all of that come from? How could I have said that to her?_ There was absolutely no excuse for what he had done.

Arnold had been so preoccupied with his own thoughts he didn't even notice that the cafeteria had buzzed to life with awed and excited chattered at what they had just witnessed, nor had he noticed his best friend trying to talk to him. Arnold walked quietly out the door in a dazed stupor.

A few straggling students on their way to lunch took in Arnold's appearance and eyed him with curious amusement as he stumbled passed them. He paid no attention to them as he scanned the hallways frantically searching for a signature color of blonde hair. He wouldn't find it though.

Helga stood silently at the bus stop. She had had enough of school for the day and had no desire to see Arnold at the moment.

She shivered again. In a strange way she felt like she deserved to be cold. She had just turned Arnold into something he wasn't, something awful. She had pushed him over the edge and now she should be allowed to suffer for what she had done to him, what she had turned him into.

The bus finally arrived. Helga paid her fare, made her way to the very back of the bus and leaned her head against the cold window pane. She felt the bus jerk forward as the driver put it into gear. Helga stared absent-mindedly as they began to move away from the school when a certain blonde boy caught her eye.

Arnold emerged from the front doors looking panicked. He looked around, frantically searching for something.

"Helga!" His muffled voice caught Helga's ears through the window. He looked around once more before his shoulders slumped forward and he went back inside.

The bus pulled away and Helga closed her eyes tightly as the image of Arnold's angry face flooded her mind. _Why are you such a horrible person?_

Helga smiled weakly to herself as she hugged her knees to her chest and rested her face against them, letting her hair cover her face as she finally allowed the warm, salty tears that had been hidden behind her eyelashes to soak into her jeans.

Arnold returned to school defeated. Phoebe and Gerald running up to him.

"Did you find her?" Gerald asked quickly as he gasped for air. Arnold merely shook his head, eyes glued to the floor.

"She's not answering her cell phone and she wasn't in either of the girl's bathrooms." Phoebe said sadly with a sigh.

Arnold leaned up against the lockers behind him and slid to the floor, resting one of his arms on his knee while the other steadied him."Why?" He muttered to himself. "How could I say that to her?" He said looking up between his friends with pleading eyes.

"You just got mad." Gerald offered. "This stuff happens."

Arnold glanced at Phoebe. She tried to smile reassuringly, but it came off as a small grimace. Arnold sighed and let his head roll back and hit the locker with a light thud. "How could I have said that to her?" He repeated.

"Arnold, you can't beat yourself up over this." Gerald said kneeling next to his distraught friend, "It's not that bad."

"No." Arnold said suddenly, his eyes locking with Gerald's. "No, Gerald. You're wrong. You should have seen the way she looked at me. Her face..." His voice trailed off as he swallowed hard, fighting off tears threatening to show themselves.

_Oh god, her face._ He thought, a jolt of pain cramping the place where his heart would have been had it not still been in his stomach. That look on her face tormented him. No matter how many times he tried to shake the image away it merely returned to the front of his mind along with a full reenactment of what he had said. _Why are you such a horrible person?_

Arnold gasped audibly at the pain that shook him yet again. It was him. _He_ was the horrible person. He just couldn't let it go. He had to keep pushing Helga to her limit. He just had to keep pushing what she didn't want back in front of her. And what did he expect?

He had known Helga since they were three years old. He knew she was a proud girl and she had said herself that she wasn't interested in his help. He had seen her at her most angry, most frustrated, most stubborn, but he had never, not once in his entire life, seen that shocked and broken expression on her face that he had just bore witness to. That look of complete pain. Of devastating heartbreak. That look would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Gerald and Phoebe looked at each other for a moment. Without a word Phoebe knelt down and placed a gentle hand on Arnold's shoulder. "Arnold?" She said gently.

Arnold looked up at her. His eyes practically pleading with her to fix what had just happened. To remove the pain he was feeling. Phoebe swallowed hard, suddenly filled with an overwhelming pressure to reassure Arnold that things would be ok, that Helga would be fine.

She opened her mouth to speak, but when nothing came out she simply closed it and looked away awkwardly. She didn't know what to say. She knew how hurt Helga must be feeling, especially since what was said came from the person she loved more than anyone else on the face of the Earth. The one person she had spent the last fourteen years of her life loving and longing for his love in return.

Phoebe finally released the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She had nothing to say. She frowned at the tears poking at the corners of her eyes and simply pulled Arnold in for a hug. Gerald followed suit hugging Phoebe and Arnold as his football headed friend finally broke down and cried.

**Author's Note: Holy freakin emo, Batman! Super crazy chapter and it only gets more nuts from here, in both good and bad ways. Updates every Wednesday I've decided!  
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**P.S. Stephen is my husband. I told him Helga beats him up. Ha ha! Poor guy. ;P**

**You can also stalk me on DeviantArt at nicolemtracy . deviantart .com**


	4. Chapter 4

The weekend had been painfully long. Arnold kept being visited by the horrible memory of his fight with Helga and hadn't really been able to sleep well since. His words kept echoing in his mind. _Why are you such a horrible person?_

At one point on Sunday, Arnold was going absolutely mad and decided to call Helga's home number again. Someone answered the phone for the first time since he had started calling on Friday evening.

"Yeah, what do you want?" The gruff voice of the Pataki patriarch, Big Bob himself, met Arnold's ears.

"Uh-Hi, Mr. Pataki. This is Arnold, Helga's friend. I was wondering if she was at home by chance."

There was a small pause on the other end before a very angry voice yelled through the phone loud enough that Arnold had to pull the phone away from his ear to avoid being deafened. "Listen Oswald, there is no one that lives here that goes by that name. Stop calling or I'll file a restraining order!"

The phone line went dead and Arnold stared at nothing in particular as he slowly snapped his flip phone shut and let it slide from his fingers and onto his bed. He sat quietly for a moment as he let the very short conversation replay through his mind.

Arnold had always had a vague idea of how the relationship between Helga and her parents was. It had always bothered him too. From the few times when Helga had confided in him somewhat he knew that her relationship with her parents was incredibly strained at best.

Not having his own parents be there for him had been really hard on Arnold, but he could not even fathom the idea of having parents, but not having any kind of positive relationship with him. All his other friends seemed to get along well with their families. Even the relationship between Gerald and Jamie-o had improved after Jamie-o had moved out and started going to college, but Helga didn't seem to have any worth-while relationship with any of her family members, not even her own sister.

Even with their non-existent relationship, Arnold couldn't help but be angry with Big Bob Pataki. What kind of parent would disown their own child? _There is no one that lives here that goes by that name._ Bob's dig at Helga had not escaped his notice.

A sudden knock at his bedroom door shook Arnold out of his thoughts.

"Hey, Short Man. Can I come in?" A muffled voice asked from behind the wood barrier.

"Yeah, sure, Grandpa." Arnold replied running his hand through his hair in an attempt to collect his thoughts.

The bed shifted slightly as Phil sat down and Arnold stayed quiet for a moment before turning to face his elder.

"Grandpa, I have a problem."

"Oh," Phil cooed in a sing-song voice as he rubbed his chin, "Another one of your boyhood problems, eh?"

"Yeah." Arnold said sadly.

"Does this have anything to do with your little girlfriend with the pink bow and bad attitude?"

"Helga." Arnold offered, " and yes." Arnold looked down a t his hands before continuing. "Well, at lunch on Friday she seemed upset about something and I tried to give her my food since she mixed hers up and-"

"And let me guess." Phil interjected knowingly, "You got into a fight about you wanting to help, her not wanting your help and you ended up with a tray full of that questionable food they feed you kids in your lap."

Arnold nodded, "But that wasn't the worst of it."

"Oh?" Phil encouraged with his bushy eyebrows raised high.

"I kind of said something really mean to her. Something I shouldn't have." Arnold glanced at his grandfather out of the corner of his eye. "I told her...she was a h-horrible person." He finished.

"Jumping Jehosaphat, Short Man! Why would you do a thing like that?" Phil spat in surprise.

"I don't know!" Arnold replied as he dropped his crest-fallen face into his hands. "I just got so angry. She's been acting so strange all week long and it was driving me crazy and I guess I just...snapped."

Phil pondered over what Arnold had said for a moment before laying a gentle hand on Arnold's shoulder.

"Arnold?" Phil started pensively, "You said she had been acting strange all week. Did something happen to bring this change about?"

Arnold brought his face out of his hands a bit as he thought for a moment. "Well, she did say that her and her dad had fought on Monday."

Phil narrowed his eyes as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. As much as Phil himself disliked the Beeper King, it seemed like an unusual shift in demeanor for just a fight, as hard-headed and as big a blowhard as Bob Pataki could be. _Something's not quite right..._ Phil glanced at Arnold and noticing the serious and expectant look on his face, grandpa coughed to relieve the tension.

"Well, Short Man, I guess the only thing you can do is call her up and apologize."

"I've tried that grandpa, but her dad said no one by the name of Helga lived there."

Phil frowned for a split second before replacing it with a reassuring smile. "I guess you'll just have to do it on Monday then." Phil said with a final pat before standing to leave. He walked halfway out the door before stopping in his tracks and turning back to face Arnold. "Arnold?"

"Yeah, Grandpa?"

Phil looked at him for a moment before continuing. "Always do the right thing. Even if it's not the easy thing."

Arnold looked surprised at this bit of rather serious sounding wisdom coming from a man who 'never eat raspberries' was sound advice. However, Arnold simply smiled warmly. "I will, grandpa."

Monday morning finally arrived and Arnold rushed to school as soon as he could. He needed to find Helga and apologize. Arnold glanced around and seeing no sign of his target anywhere, he decided to ask Harold, Sid and Stinky who were standing nearby, quietly discussing something.

"Hey guys." Arnold greeted, approaching the trio.

"Ahoy there, Arnold." Stinky replied with a wave. "That's sailor talk." He added beaming at this tidbit of knowledge.

"Yeah, that's great, Stinky. Have you guys seen Helga?"

"Funny you should ask." Sid blurted, "Harold crashed into her just a few minutes ago."

"I thought I was going to die!" Harold said, a horrified look on his face.

"What happened?" Arnold inquired, seeing his friend's distress.

"It was horrible." Harold began, "I turned a corner and crashed right into her. I panicked. With how angry she had been all last week I was sure she was going to murder me right then and there!"

"So what happened?"

"Nothing." Harold replied in a dazed stupor.

"Nothing?" Arnold asked incredulously.

"Yeah," Sid explained, "She just stood up, threatened him and took off."

"It was the most peculiar thing too." Stinky added, thoughtfully scratching his head. "Her threat was nothing like it used to be. It was kind of...weak."

" Weak?" Arnold repeated in confusion. Weak was not a word he would use to describe Helga, or anything about her for that matter.

"I know it sounds crazy, but you should have seen her." Sid said, his face reflecting the same pensive look on Stinky's.

"Well, do you know where she went?"

"Yeah," Stinky answered, his face returning to normal, "she headed that-a-way."

Arnold thanked him and headed in the direction Stinky pointed. He picked up his pace hoping to catch up to Helga before the bell rang. The football headed teen finally caught sight of a familiar shade of blonde turning the corner. He sprinted after it, turned the corner tightly and crashed into the person standing on the other side of it, sending books and papers flying.

"I'm so sorry I-Helga!" Arnold gasped. Helga looked awful. Her messy, blonde hair was covering half of her surprised face. Normally she would have looked adorable looking up at him like that, but her face was pale, tired dark circles marked her eyes, and her bottom lip was slightly purple and had the distinct imprint of a split in it. "Oh my god! What happened?" Arnold demanded invading Helga's personal space and holding her face to get a better look at the damage. Helga flinched at his touch and pushed him away.

"Nothing happened, Arnoldo." Helga growled, though her annoyance seemed half-hearted. "I just got in a fight with some random thug Saturday night and he took a cheap shot. That's all."

Arnold looked her in the eyes before she turned away from him to collect her things. Arnold followed suit. "Sorry about that." Arnold said again, handing Helga her books.

"It's fine." she shrugged before turning on her heel to head to class.

"Helga, listen," Arnold said, matching her stride, "I am so sorry about what I said on Friday. I honestly didn't mean it. I was just angry. I'm sorry."

Helga stopped walking. Her face remained neutral and she said nothing.

"Helga?" Arnold whispered. "Please, say something..." Arnold stepped in front of her to see her face Helga began to turn away from him, when Arnold grabbed her shoulder to stop her. Her body jerked at the contact and Arnold immediately removed his hand.

"I-it's fine." Helga stuttered as she held her shoulder as if his touch had somehow burned her. "Forget about it."

"Helga, are you ok?" Arnold inquired, his face scrunched up in concern. He stepped closer and reached out to brush the hair out of her eyes. "Jesus!" Arnold gasped loudly, drawing attention from a few random students. Helga smacked his hand away and brushed her hair back down.

"I said I'm fine!" Helga snapped, "Drop it!" with that Helga shoved passed him and bolted down the hall.

Arnold stood starring after her in shock at what he had just seen. His feet moved on their own as he contemplated what had just happened, though he couldn't make any sense of it. His stomach was in knots. He had a bad feeling about this. He just didn't know what 'this' was exactly.

At lunch Gerald and Phoebe watched as Arnold played absent-mindedly with his food. He seemed confused and frustrated about something and just as he was about to demand an answer he heard a loud clatter.

"Hey, watch it!" Helga shouted at a sophomore who had bumped into her and had been knocked into a chair. The blonde, much to the astonishment of many, said nothing more and continued to the table where her friends sat. She hesitated for a moment before sitting down and digging into her lunch.

"Jesus, Helga! What happened to your face?" Gerald said with little tact. Phoebe just looked in horror at the bruise on both her lip and under her left eye.

"Got in a fight." Helga said trying to shrug it off, but gripped her shoulder as if the motion bothered her.

"That's it? Got in a fight? You look like you got your ass kicked!" Gerald scowled in a harsh whisper, trying to avoid unwanted attention.

"Wow. You sure know how to pick 'em, Pheebs." Helga growled with annoyance through a mouthful of food. Her voice, the others had noticed, had lost much of its bite from the previous week. Gerald and Phoebe exchange concerned glances as Arnold stared at Helga's face. Studying it carefully.

"Helga, perhaps you should go visit the nurse." Phoebe suggested hesitantly.

"No."

"But, Helga!" Phoebe contested before being cut off.

"I said no. I'm fine." Phoebe knew better than to push the matter and returned to her lunch.

By Tuesday, Helga seemed to have bounced back a little, but on Wednesday it was worse than ever.

Helga shuffled into class, her hair hiding her face as if trying to avoid being detected by the class. She quietly took her seat, pulled her hood over her head and laid her head on her arms folded on her desk.

She seemed to be in pain. _A stomach ache maybe?_ Arnold wondered as she clutched her left side with one hand. He narrowed his eyes. _No, that's not it...but what then?_

Lunch rolled around and Helga was the first at the table, though instead of eating she just sat quietly in her seat, pulling at a thread hanging from the hem of her hoodie. Arnold watched her for several minutes with a frown before Helga looked up, meeting his gaze. Her face turned into a scowl.

"Why don't you take a picture, Football Head, it'll last longer." Her voice cracked a little and she blush embarrassedly as she realized as much.

"Helga, do you have a stomach ache or something?" Arnold asked quietly.

"No, why?"

"Well," he replied, swallowing nervously, "you keep holding your side like it hurts."

Helga looked down and indeed her hand was clutching her side, again. She hastily removed it before standing with enough speed to topple her chair over. She grimaced slightly. "I have to go." She said before taking off as fast as her obvious pain would allow.

Arnold, Gerald and Phoebe followed after her. Arnold reached her first and grabbed her wrist to stop her. Helga gasped and curled her body slightly to brace herself, her free hand up to protect her face. Arnold immediately released her and stared down at his hand for a moment. He hadn't even grabbed her very hard.

Arnold looked back in time to see Helga relax and quickly pull her sleeve back down, but not before something caught Arnold's attention.

He grabbed Helga's hand and pulled her into a side hallway devoid of students for the time being. "Helga," He said grabbing her sleeve and pulling it up before Helga could react, "what is this?" Helga pulled her hand free and pulled her sleeve down again, but not before her friends got a good look at her wrist. Bruises.

"Just some bruises, Arnoldo. It's nothing."

"Helga! What happened!" Phoebe shrieked as she grabbed Helga and tried to move her sleeve again to get a better look.

"I said it's nothing." Helga growled though looking panicked, carefully stuffing her hands stubbornly into her pockets.

"It doesn't look like nothing." Gerald replied matter-of-factly. Helga glared at him.

"It's nothing because I say it's nothing."

"Helga," Arnold pleaded, "Let us help you, or at least go to the nurse. That looked serious."

"Helga, please!" Phoebe whined.

"No!" Helga screamed, her voice cracking slightly before sprinting as fast as she could away from the attention, but Arnold hot on her heels. "Leave me alone!" She shouted at him, heading for the far side of the school's near empty courtyard.

Helga suddenly stopped and doubled over as she clutched her side and inhaled sharply, making a hissing sound. Arnold put his arms around Helga's shoulders before she could get away again.

"Helga, what's wrong?" He asked, his brows pushed together in concern.

Arnold carefully sat down, pulling Helga with him. She scrunched up her nose before letting out a shaky breathe and rubbing her ribs.

Without thinking, Arnold reached for the bottom of Helga's hoodie and slowly began pulling it up. Helga placed her hands on Arnold's, but didn't have it in her to voice her protest. She and Arnold gazed at each other for a minute before she finally turned her head in defeat and lowering her hands.

Arnold took that as permission and gently tugged the sweater up a little. He gasped, tears stinging his eyes.

Beneath Helga's shirt lay a very large black and blue bruise, about the size of his open hand, covering a rather large section of her side. Arnold stared at this, a lump in his throat. His hand shook as he gingerly reached up to touch the heated, discolored flesh as if it was just a mirage and would go away if he did so.

Helga jumped at his touch, though for different reasons than before. Her face flushed at the contact, his warm fingers gently tracing down the length of the injury. She swallowed hard before daring to turn to look at her beloved.

She watched his face for a time as he studied the bruise then, finally, his eyes lifted to reach hers. He looked pained, as if he knew what she was feeling just now. Helga could swear she heard her heart break as she gazed back into his grief-stricken eyes. Her blush deepened and Arnold, finally realizing how close they were and how intimate this scene actually was glanced down long enough to readjust her shirt, his face bright red, before meeting her eyes again.

Helga gazed up at him, the heat in her face radiating. She was certain Arnold could hear her heart pounding against her chest. He was so close. Too close.

Arnold, feeling a little shy himself pulled back and clasped his hands together in his lap, staring intently at them.

"Helga." He breathed, the unsteadiness in his voice a mixture of more than just rage, though he tried his best to keep his other emotions in check, "how did this happen?"

Helga took a deep shaky breath before answering him, her voice barely above a whisper. "I can't tell you."

Arnold's mouth fell slack a little as he looked into Helga's eyes. She turned away from him, hiding the tears that threatened to fall. She exhaled suddenly, rose to her feet and hurried back inside the building, leaving Arnold on the grass alone.

**Author's Note: Whew! Holy Hannah! I almost wasn't able to upload a chapter today. My computer decided today would be a good day to be a piece of shit and not turn on. Luckily, my husband is a computer wiz and installed a new power supply for me. Thanks hunny!**  
><strong>So, some crazy crap is happening. Tune in next Wednesday for Rhonda's party! Trust me, you will NOT want to miss it ;)<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

Saturday- 5:22 PM

"Finally finished." Arnold sighed looking over the updated paper that now covered the kitchen in the Sunset Arms. He felt sticky and gross and was certain he still had paste in his hair. It had been hard to concentrate on the task at hand as all Arnold had been thinking about was Helga and the mysterious bruises that seemed to pop up on her randomly throughout the week.

He had tried to get Helga to open up to him a little more since Wednesday, but she had either shut him out by avoiding the topic entirely or told him it was none of his business and she had everything under control, which made Arnold worry even more.

_I'm going to start getting wrinkles from worrying so much._ He thought as he made his way to the shower. Arnold stopped to look at his hair in the mirror and frowned. _Yup, I still have paste in my hair._

Arnold stepped into the hot water, letting it wash away the paste, his sweat, and his worries, though the latter persisted despite his willing them to leave. He quickly washed his hair, not wanting to be late for Rhonda's party, wrapped a towel around his waist and hurried to his room to change.

A few minutes later Arnold emerged wearing a red dress shirt, a black tie, dark grey slacks, black shoes and of course, never without his blue cap atop his cornflower head.

"Well well, Tenderfoot! Don't you look like a straight shooter."

"Thanks, Grandma." Arnold said with a shy smile. "You don't think it's a little too much? It's for Rhonda's party and it's supposed to be a 'black tie event'..." he said, quoting Rhonda's words to the best of his memory.

Gertie tipped her cowgirl hat down a little. "Of course not. The rancher's daughter will be mighty impressed."

Arnold looked confused. "Rhonda and I are just friends, Grandma."

"I wasn't talking about her, cowboy." She replied with a smirk. Arnold blushed again. "Giddy-up, Pewter!" Gertie suddenly declared, "We've got to herd the cattle back home before dark! Yee-haw!" She shouted and laughed as she rode her invisible horse upstairs. "Watch out for coyotes, Tenderfoot!"

A loud car horn beckoned Arnold from outside. He opened the door to see Phoebe waving at him from the passenger seat of Gerald's dad's car. He waved back, checked to make sure he had his wallet and keys before shutting the door behind him and sliding into the back seat behind Phoebe.

"Let's get this party started, shall we?" Gerald announced before turning the radio up and pulling into traffic.

They arrived at Rhonda's estate in just a few minutes and stared in awe at the splendor of the mansion. It was decorated with twinkling lights, carefully maintained topiaries shaped like angels, and a large, intricately chiseled fountain.

"Why do I feel like her house is bigger than half the neighborhood." Arnold muttered in awe.

Gerald handed his keys to the parking attendant and started walking towards the door before answering. "Probably because it is."

Phoebe giggled behind her hand at the comment, but was silenced when some questionable language caught her ears.

"Hurry the fuck up, Pataki!"

Arnold turned to see Helga being pulled along by, who, he could only assume, was her boyfriend, Reggie, followed by two other guys and a girl. The whole group was dressed very similarly, black leather seemed to be their theme. Helga at least had attempted to make an effort to dress up by pairing her black leather sleeveless dress with black high heels, her pink bow tied around the left one, a pearl necklace with matching earrings, and an elegant up-do, whereas her companions looked like it was everyday apparel: Jeans, chains and boots.

Arnold felt a sharp jab from Gerald and, realizing he had been staring at one member of the group in particular, turned away, a shy blush creeping across his face.

"Arnold, darling!" Rhonda greeted enthusiastically, "You look positively suave!"

"Thanks, Rhonda." Arnold replied awkwardly as she air-kissed each of his cheeks. "You look great. Is that a new dress?"

"This old thing?" Rhonda said modeling her red, knee-length sleeveless halter dress, "Why yes, it is! Gucci, very expensive you know. Phoebe!"

Arnold took his leave as Rhonda gushed over Phoebe and Gerald. He was escorted to the party room, which looked a lot more like the inside of a night club, or at least from what he had seen in movies.

Loud music blared over the speakers near the stage where a girl named, DJ Cleopatra Ice stood scratching rhythmically at a couple of vinyl records. Bright, colored lights flashed and bounced around the room to the beat and a gentleman in a white dress shirt and black bowtie stood behind the counter of the full wet bar mixing drinks.

"Rhonda's parents must be out for the evening." Arnold muttered to no one in particular.

Arnold felt a little out of his element, especially since he didn't really listen to any of this hip-hop music. His relief at seeing Gerald and Phoebe enter the room was short lived when a slightly terrified looking Helga was pushed in by the tall, short-haired brunette guy that had been with her earlier.

"Wow, this chick sure knows how to throw a party!" He exclaimed as his sides were flanked by his friends.

"I've seen better." Scoffed the girl. Arnold raised a brow at her appearance. It seemed like there was very little of her flesh that hadn't been pierced or tattooed and half of her short pink hair was shaved on one side.

"Always the optimist are we, Kyle?" laughed a tall, gangly, mousey looking, guy, his black hair falling in his eyes.

"You know me so well, Scrappy."

"Yeah, yeah. The party's great. Can we go now?" Helga whined pulling on Reggie's arm. He simply pulled his arm from her grip.

"Now now, Helga. What kind of guest would I be if I left this early? We only just got here." He said in a mocking, condescending tone.

"Yeah," quipped the tall, burly looking bald guy, "Quit being a party pooper, Pataki." He bumped her arm as he pushed passed her, knocking her off her balance for a moment.

"Oo! Look!" Kyle squealed with girlish delight. "Booze! Let's go, Knuckles." The thick, muscular guy nodded and followed his crew leaving Helga looking panicked.

She mumbled to herself for a few minutes in a voice too quiet to be heard over the music before sitting down at one of the many couches placed throughout the room, head in her hands.

Arnold moved to sit by her when a drink appeared out of nowhere and was shoved into his hands.

"What is this?" Arnold asked looking at the fizzy contents suspiciously.

"It's called a French 75." Gerald announced, holding a dark brown drink full of ice in his hand. "And this is a Black Russian." He said taking a sip. "Ah, nectar of the gods."

"Is there alcohol in this?" Arnold inquired with a frown.

"Yeah, so?"

Arnold scowled. "We're not old enough to drink, Gerald." He stated trying to hand the tall glass back to his friend.

"Actually, Arnold," Phoebe interrupted, "In the state of Washington a minor can drink as long as he or she has the permission of his or her parents and adult supervision."

"We don't have the permission of our parents."

"Arnold," Gerald said, putting an arm around his oblong-headed friend's shoulders, pulling him close, "Let loose. Live a little!"

Arnold frowned, "I don't know, Gerald. I don't really feel like going to juvy if we get caught."

"Psh!" Gerald snorted, "You won't go to juvy. The worst you'd get is a slap on the wrist."

"I'd get arrested and have to wait for Grandma and Grandpa to bail me out." Arnold defended.

"Arnold, quit being a wet blanket. " Gerald let go of Arnold, grabbed Phoebe's free hand and sat on couch on the far side of the room. Arnold rolled his eyes, looked at the drink in his hand for a second before taking a small sip.

It was surprisingly good. He took another sip before heading towards Helga. Just as he was getting near her, Reggie appeared out of nowhere, plopped next to the blonde girl and shoved a drink in her hands.

Arnold made a quick 90 degree turn away to make it look like he had actually been heading for the dance floor instead.

Arnold wandered aimlessly before making his way to the buffet to make a plate for himself.

"Bonjour monsieur. My name is Jacques. Allow me to make you a platter, s'il vous plait."

Arnold shrugged. "Sure. Thanks."

"Ah yes, here we have the escargot and the Flamiche, very tasty, and a tarte tatin. Oh! you simply must try the cervelles braisees avec les oeufs brouilles!" He exclaimed scooping some meaty looking pink stuff onto his plate.

"Uh, what is that?" Arnold asked, afraid of the answer.

"It is cervelles braisees avec les oeufs brouilles, monsieur. Braised brains scrambled with eggs."

Arnold's face paled. "D-did you say brains?" He took a nervous step backwards. "You know, I just remembered, I already ate."

Arnold took off and Jacques glowered in his direction. "Psh! Americans..."

Arnold took a deep breath and wiped his pale face with his sleeve.

"Arnold?"

The blonde looked up upon hearing his name. The girl in front of him looked stunning in a sea green, sweetheart cut strapless gown. The skirt was covered in shimmering taffeta and the bodice bedazzled with an asymmetrical design curving over the top of one breast, down the middle and off to the other side. Her red hair had been curled in loose ringlets with the upper half pulled back with a clip and she wore simple, silver tear drops in each ear.

"You look pale. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied with an embarrassed smile after realizing he had been gawking at her. "Wow, you look great, Lila."

Lila smiled sweetly. "Gosh, thank you ever so much."

"Would you like to dance?" Arnold asked, noticing the change in music and holding his arm out to her.

"I'm ever so certain I'd just love to, Arnold." She replied demurely, accepting Arnold's arm and following him onto the dance floor.

Helga sat uncomfortably as Reggie gulped down his fourth (fifth?) Old Fashioned and leaned up against the arm of the couch.

She had barely touched her own drink and she could tell that Reggie was starting to teeter passed the edge of tipsy. That was a dangerous place for him to be.

"Reggie, can we go now?" Helga pleaded, "I don't want to be here anymore."

"Shut up." Reggie struggled to focus his glare on her for a moment before rising to his feet and heading back to the bar. She sighed miserably as she watched him walk over and start flirting with Ruth McDougal, who seemed more interested in herself than him.

"God I hate this." Helga murmured bitterly, taking another gulp of her cocktail and staring into the remnants of the ice and amber liquid. "I really didn't want to come here."

"I'm glad you did though."

Helga jumped. "Jesus, Football Head, don't scare me like that." She scolded. Arnold smiled sheepishly and sat down next to her.

"Your boyfriend seems..." Arnold paused for a second trying to find a compliment, anything, but he just couldn't seem to think of a single thing. "to like leather." He finished awkwardly.

Helga laughed heartily and Arnold blushed. He had just realized it had been a long time since he'd heard her laugh. It felt good.

"Yeah, I guess." She said wiping away a tear from laughing so hard.

Arnold smiled. "You look beautiful, Helga." Helga stopped laughing. A deep blush spread across her face and she prayed the lights were dim enough to hide it.

"You don't have to be nice, Arnoldo. I know I look ridiculous." She said furrowing her eye brows together.

"No, you don't." Arnold insisted. "You look amazing." Helga smiled bashfully.

"Well, hey, you clean up pretty nice yourself, Football Head." She replied punching him playfully on the arm.

Arnold rubbed the spot she had hit. It had actually hurt, not that he'd ever admit as much.

_I catch myself staring at your face when you're not awake  
>I just can't help it, no, no<em>

"Do you...want to dance?" Arnold asked shyly reaching out his hand for hers. Helga stared at it for a minute before a shy smile formed on her lips.

"Ok."

_Just having you here lying next to me  
>It's the little things that cause a storm inside of me<em>

Arnold lead Helga to the dance floor. He gently took her in his arms and she responded by placing one hand on his shoulder and the other in his waiting hand. She swallowed nervously. Arnold blushed, pulled her closer to him and started to move with the rhythm.

_And every time you're close I shiver, shiver, shiver  
>Every time we kiss I shiver, shiver, shiver<br>I gotta catch my breath  
>(Breath)<br>So caught up that I forget  
>(Forget)<br>Every time you're close I shiver, shiver, shiver_

_This song is far too close to home._ Helga thought to herself as she felt a shiver run up her spine at the warmth from Arnold's hand.

_Your hand in my hand, skin upon my skin over and again  
>I can't get enough, no, no, no<br>The way you give yourself to me I just can't believe  
>Sending chills all up and down my spine<br>I want you to know, I want you to know_

The chorus started again and Arnold felt his mouth go dry as he locked eyes with Helga. _How can she affect me so much? Last week she was driving me insane, but now all I want is to see her smile. To see her happy._

Before he could stop himself, he reached up to brush a stray hair out of her face, caressing her cheek as he did so.

Helga gasped quietly at the sudden contact. She wanted so much to move away from him and regain control of her senses. Her mind was screaming at her to get a grip, but her body refused to move. Her skin tingled wildly at the brief contact from his fingers.

Arnold swallowed hard. Helga was gazing up at him in a way he had never seen before and he just couldn't look away. Those eyes were killing him. He felt his hand move towards her again, as if on its own accord. He touched the side of her face with the backs of his finger tips, caressing her again, this time, on purpose.

Helga felt her face get hot and her head light. She slowly reached up, taking Arnold's hand in hers, and held it gently to her face.

Arnold's blushed deepened further. He used his free hand to cup Helga's face and he could feel himself leaning into her.

Helga's lips parted as Arnold inched towards her. She felt her heart catch in her throat and a loud throbbing in her ears. He was so close now. She could feel his warm breath on her lips. She closed her eyes expectantly.

A loud shriek pulled the blondes out of their trance-like state.

"Oh my god!" Rhonda gasped. "My parent's 1995 Domaine Ramonet Montrachet Grand Cru!"

_Oh god, what did I almost do?_ Arnold scolded himself. _She has a boyfriend!_

_Wha-what just happened?_ Helga shivered again. _Was he-were we about to..._

Arnold and Helga exchanged embarrassed glances before making their way to the front of the crowd that had gathered near the buffet.

Reggie and his friends held in each of their hands a bottle of wine, all of which were open and half empty.

Rhonda looked pale. "This wine is twelve hundred dollars a bottle!" Her voice cracked with rage as she spoke. "Where did you even find it?"

"In the wine cellar." Reggie slurred. "Where else?"

Rhonda looked very much like a fish as she moved her mouth, willing words to come out. "Are you crazy!? You are chugging nearly ten thousand dollars worth of wine like some cheap domestic beer!"

"Excellent year."Kyle said in a mocking, low, snooty voice before cracking up. Her friends joined in. Rhonda fumed.

"Ok, that's it! You need to leave. Now!"

"Keep your pants on, princess." Scrappy growled before taking another swig. "We were just on our way to the door."

"Helga!" Reggie shouted. "We're leaving, let's go."

Helga flinched at the sound of her name. "Fuck." She cursed. Arnold looked at her, she seemed terrified to move. He could feel her hand start shaking and go clammy in his. He caught her eye.

"You don't have to go." He mouthed, squeezing her hand reassuringly. Helga smiled.

"Helga!" Reggie yelled again, this time louder. "Get the fuck over here!"

Helga's face fell, she pulled her hand away and stared at the floor. "I have to go." She breathed just loud enough for Arnold to hear.

Helga could feel all eyes on her as she meekly stepped forward, holding her hands to her chest to try and keep them from shaking . The group was escorted out of the room and to the front door by a couple of tough looking bouncers, just in case they tried anything.

Arnold watched as Helga was berated and cussed out by her 'boyfriend'. She turned to look back over her shoulder and caught Arnold's gaze. He had never seen her look so terrified.

**Author's Note: Song: First, the song is Shiver by Shawn Desman. I pretty much listened to it on repeat for majority of this chapter. I'm a weird one.  
>Also, I received a review from one of my more sensitive readers. This person was a bit upset about the subject matter of this story. I PM'd them, but I'd also like to address the matter here as well. This is a more mature and sensitive story for a lot of reasons. As most of you have already guessed, Helga is being abused. Part of the reason I included abuse as a main part of the story arc was to shed light on it. It tends to be something that gets swept under the rug or glamorized by the media, but it's not something that either should happen to. Abuse of any kind is serious and can leave lasting effects on the recipient that can affect them their entire lives. It's not pretty, it's not glamorous and it's most certainly not something that should ever be downplayed.<br>The other reason I'm using more mature content in this particular story is because I want to story to be believable and leave a lasting impact on my readers. After the final chapter of Tattered Ribbon I'm hoping my readers will walk away going, "Wow" and give them something to think about for a long time afterwards. I also would like people who are able to relate to Helga's predicament to feel like they are not alone. You obviously don't have to be physically abused to relate in any way, emotional, mental, and sexual abuse are just as, and probably the latter more so, devastating to the individual. How do I know? 3 words: Abusive asshole ex-boyfriend.  
>The point I'm trying to make here is yes, what's happening to Helga is ugly and yes no one should have to go through it, but people do all the time all over the world and it's an insult to the survivors to downplay what they went through. I'm shedding light on this for them and also for you. Yes, you! The person reading this sentence. I am making abuse known to you personally, because I don't want this to happen to you. I don't want you to get hurt and to feel the shame and pain that comes with abuse. Because I love you. A tad sappy, but true.<br>Anywho, long note. I apologize for that and I hope to see you all on the next chapter. Remember, updates every Wednesday!  
><strong>


	6. Chapter 6

Arnold lazily opened his mitt, easily catching the baseball Gerald threw to him. He held onto it for a second before tossing it back from whence it came.

_When did everything become so complicated?_ Arnold wondered as he reached up to catch the ball that Gerald had thrown just a little too high. Arnold had hardly slept a wink. The entirety of last night had been replaying itself nonstop in his mind, tormenting him.

The trio had left the party shortly after Helga. For some reason, the scene had left them feeling not much like partying anymore. Arnold was angry, bitter, confused and... a little disappointed.

Helga had looked so surreal. It was strange seeing her become so submissive as they danced together. She was so warm, a small smile on her lips, her eyes glittering from the refracted light of the disco ball, her skin was so warm... Arnold blushed as his mind replayed his body acting without his brain being in control of it. The second he had touched her he no longer had control of himself.

His hand reaching for her cheek. The feel of Helga's fingers holding his against her. The rush he felt as he cupped her face, leaning into her. Her lips parting...

Arnold was brought out of his thoughts by a baseball to the head.

"Ow!" He grumbled, rubbing the slightly tender spot. It actually hadn't hurt that much since it had been a soft toss, but that didn't stop the whine from escaping from his lips.

"What's eating you, man?" Gerald inquired with a huff, hands on his hips. "You've been out of it all day. What's going on?"

"Nothing." Arnold replied scooping the ball up and tossing it back at his friend.

Gerald snorted. "Don't tell me 'nothing'. It's never 'nothing', it's always something."

"I... I don't know." Arnold admitted, catching the ball again. "I guess I'm still bugged by what happened at Rhonda's last night." A low rumble of thunder from the dark, billowing clouds moving in echoed his thoughts on the subject.

Gerald shook his head. "Mm mm mm! I've never seen Rhonda that humiliated before. Always the perfect hostess. She's never lost her cool like that."

"Did you see the look on Helga's face though?"

Gerald frowned. "Actually, no. Why?"

Arnold tossed the ball back before answering. "She looked so uncomfortable around Reggie. Not shy, but more like... she was scared of him."

Gerald sighed. "Look, Arnold. I know you want to help and I feel for you man, I really do, but I think this is one time where you just can't. Helga has made it pretty clear she's not interested in anybody's help and we don't even know what's going on."

Arnold pulled his lips together in a thin, contemplative line. Gerald was right. Unless Helga said something to him, told him what was going on, there really was nothing he could do. He hated seeing Helga so uncharacteristically scared, he hated seeing those bruises on her beautiful face and he hated feeling so helpless about it all.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Arnold finally replied.

"Get back here, you bitch!"

Arnold whipped his head around in the direction of the noise. He could hear the sound of high heels clacking rapidly on the pavement before a certain blonde came into view.

Helga ran as fast as she could passed Gerald Field, but only managed to make it half way across before the sound of one of her stilettos breaking sent her tumbling to the ground, sliding a little on the concrete.

"Helga!" Arnold gasped in shock.

Helga pushed herself up on her hands to see her addressor. "Arnold!" Her face flushed in embarrassment and tears poked at her eyes from her sudden trip. Her hair was a disaster as the wind picked it up and whipped it in her face, mascara tracks stained her pinked cheeks and dark circles lined her eyes. She wore the same dress from last night, but one of the straps had snapped from the sudden pressure applied on it from the fall. Her knees, palms and arms were scraped and bleeding, staining the sidewalk and her lips quivered as she willed the tears to go away.

Before Arnold could move to help her, a young man in a leather jacket gruffly pulled her to her feet by her upper arms.

"Reggie!" Helga gasped. She clung tightly to the broken strap to avoid exposing any more flesh.

"What did I say would happen if you ever tried to leave?" He shouted before he swung his arm across his chest, his knuckles connecting with Helga's cheek and snapping her head to the head to the side as she let out a muffled cry of pain.

"Hey!" Arnold hissed as he dropped his glove on the ground and stormed over to where Helga and Reggie stood. "Get your filthy hands off of her!"

Reggie rolled his eyes lazily to meet the young man addressing him. "Look, bud, this is between me and my girlfriend. Fuck off!"

"Arnold. Don't." Helga pleaded quietly, her eyes full of fear.

Arnolds face softened slightly as her voice reached his ears. He looked at her and held his hand out to her. "Helga, you don't have to put up with this. You deserve better. Come with me."

Helga studied his hand for a moment before she met his eyes, a small smile on her lips.

"She's not going anywhere." Reggie growled angrily. "Who the hell do you think you are anyway?" Reggie shoved Helga to the side to face Arnold. Unable to catch herself with a broken high heel, Helga toppled to the ground, her knees breaking her fall.

Gerald rushed to her side. "You ok?"

Helga didn't respond. She watched nervously as Reggie pushed Arnold away from him and Arnold shoved back.

"What?" Arnold's fists shook with rage, "You won't hit me, but you wouldn't think twice about hitting a lady?"

"You'd just love that, wouldn't you?" Reggie sneered, shoving Arnold further onto the grass. Arnold stumbled a little, but quickly regained his footing.

Arnold smiled darkly. "You're not a man. You're nothing but a scared little boy. No, not even that." Arnold continued, "You're just a little bitch!"

Without warning, Reggie's fist swung across Arnold's jaw, knocking him backwards onto the ground. "Who's the bitch now?"

Arnold chuckled as he wiped the blood from his chin. "I was really hoping you'd do that." He snarled.

Gerald and Helga watched in horror as the two men threw punches at each other, Reggie landing far more than Arnold.

"Stop it!" Helga shrieked. "Reggie, stop it!"

Arnold threw an uppercut into Reggie's jaw knocking him backwards a little. The brunette wiped his mouth and reached his hand into his pocket.

Helga gasped in terror. "Arnold! Look out! He has a-"

"Knife..." Arnold gasped under his breath as Reggie flipped his butterfly blade around to release the blade. Arnold swallowed and at the speed of the lightning that lit up the sky, Reggie lunged towards Arnold's face.

"Reggie! No!" Helga screamed, thunder drowning out her voice.

Arnold dodged the attack and was surprised by another subsequent lunge for his face. Reggie was fast and it took all of Arnold's concentration to keep his focus on the blade, thereby, keeping it away from his face.

"Reggie stop!" Helga pleaded.

Arnold was momentarily distracted by Helga's voice, but snapped back to his senses when Reggie reached out for him again, clipping his cheek with the tip of his knife.

Arnold reached up to touch the wound, but didn't have to time let it sink in as Reggie began swinging wildly, fury overpowering his skill, making him a little more sloppy, and that much more dangerous.

Arnold started to panic a little as he leaped backwards to avoid a swing at his stomach. _He_ needed to end this quickly or else Reggie would. He racked his brain frantically trying to come up with some way to disarm Reggie and avoid getting sliced open or stabbed in the process.

_When you can snatch the fly out of my hand, your training will be complete._ Arnold's eyes widened at both the memory and at the rush of air gliding across his face at another swing from Reggie. _Be as the frog in the pond. He does not seek the fly, the fly comes to him._ His grandma's voice echoed in his mind. It had been a long time since his self defense lessons with his grandmother in fourth grade and he hadn't done much with them since.

_Assume a state of relaxed alertness. _Arnold took a deep breath, trying to calm his mind.

_Be as the frog in the pond. _He repeated, watching Reggie's moves carefully. He took another deep breath as Reggie's muscles seemed to coil tightly like a spring waiting to be released. The sound of his heart beat and the blood coursing through him was the only thing Arnold could hear as Reggie's arm sprung forward, heading right between Arnold's eyes.

Arnold watched for a moment, his heart racing faster, pumping adrenaline through his body. The sharp tip of the knife came closer and closer to his face. Arnold stood perfectly still. _The fly comes to him. _At the last second Arnold weaved his head to the side.

He watched for a moment as the blade whizzed past his head and, with unfathomable speed, Arnold reached up, grabbed Reggie's hand with both of his and twisted hard. A sickening snap reached the ears of all present before the knife fell slack from Reggie's hand, sticking blade first into the grass.

Time seemed to stop entirely for a moment, engulfing them all in complete silence before Reggie's voice turned into gravel from his ear-splitting shriek. From the look on Reggie's face, Arnold knew it was mostly rage.

"Fuck!" He screeched angrily, cupping is distorted arm to his chest. "This isn't over, you bastard! Far from it!" Reggie took a few careful steps backwards. "I'll get you." He growled at Helga, his voice almost inhuman. "I will fucking get you and I will fucking kill you!"

Arnold blinked as a small rain drop hit his nose. When he opened his eyes again Reggie had vanished.

The heavens open up with a loud crack of thunder and the rain quickly began to soak through his clothes as Arnold jogged over to Helga, who still sat on the now wet concrete.

"Are you ok?" Arnold asked, sitting on his haunches and cupping her face to see the damage left by Reggie backhanding her. The mark on her face was quickly turning swollen and red.

Helga shivered as a chill swept through her, both from Arnold's touch and from the rain running down her dress, soaking her completely.

Arnold felt her shiver and quickly removed his plaid shirt, draping it over Helga's shoulders.

"You alright, man?" Gerald inquired, noting the cut on Arnold's cheek and his now swollen lip. Helga released her death grip on her broken dress strap to pull Arnold's shirt tighter around her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, man." Arnold smiled weakly before turning his attention back to Helga. "Can you stand up?"

Helga nodded and gripped Arnold's arms to pull herself to her feet. She suddenly cried out in pain and dropped towards the ground. Arnold caught her and held her partially upright as she desperately clung to him. Her movements had shifted the gravel that had embedded itself into her knees, reopening the clots that had formed, allowing blood to run freely down her legs, mixing with the torrents from the sky.

Arnold carefully scooped her up into his arms and Helga held his neck for support. "Come on." Arnold said gently, "I'll take you to the boarding house and we'll get you cleaned up, ok?" Helga just nodded not really seeing any other options available. "Coming, Gerald?" Arnold asked turning to see his best friend who had made his way to the center of the field.

"Not without this." He replied bending down to pluck the butterfly blade from the soggy grass. He studied it for a moment before carefully putting the blade away and slipping it into his pocket.

The trio made their way across the street to the boarding house. Gerald opened the door to let out a small horde of animals before stepping aside to let Arnold in.

"Grandma? Grandpa?" Arnold called out as Gerald closed the door behind them.

"Yes dea- Oh my goodness!" Gertie gasped as she took in the sight. She hurried over to her grandson and surveyed the damage to Helga's knees. Helga, embarrassed and in pain, hid her face in Arnold's chest. Arnold griped her tighter to him in an attempted to comfort her. "Phil!" Gertie hollered, "Get the first aid kit!" The teens heard some noise of agreement from the other room. "What happened?" Grandma asked, her face fraught with concern.

"It's kind of a long story." Gerald replied, rubbing the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

"Here's the kit, Pookie. I don't know why you insist on bandaging the pig all the- Holy mackerel! What happened, Short Man?" Phil frowned at the scene. Arnold just shook his head.

"It's not for me to tell, Grandpa."

"Well," Gertie said taking the kit from her husband, "Let's use the downstairs bathroom and get you two cleaned up."

Arnold looked confused for a moment before remembering that he was bleeding too. He ran his tongue over his bottom lip, poking at the split he had found. "Ow."

The group followed Gertie downstairs to Grandpa's special bathroom, where they would less likely be interrupted by the borders.

Arnold gently sat down on the edge of the tub, Helga still clinging to him as if her life depended on it. She shifted a little so she was now sitting in his lap, but refused to let go of her death grip on Arnold's neck.

Phil went to get towels and Gerald leaned against a nearby wall, not really sure what to do.

Grandma poured some hot water into a bowl with a white rag and knelt in front of Arnold. She sighed sadly before pulling a paired of curved hemostats from the white, metal box and sanitizing them with rubbing alcohol.

Arnold looked at the over-sized tweezers in confusion for a moment before realization set in and he hugged Helga closer into him.

Gertie took hold of Helga's leg, feeling the girl flinch under her touch. She frowned and slowly moved the hemostats forward.

Helga gasped and jerked her leg away as pain shot through it. A firm, but gentle hand took hold of it once more and dug a piece of gravel out. Helga hissed, her nails digging into Arnold's shoulder.

Arnold held her head to him and stroked her hair, not daring to watch his grandma at work. He could feel Helga tense up in his arms again and finally she squeaked in pain as another bit of gravel fell, making a sharp click as it hit the tile.

Arnold could feel something warm soaking through his cold, wet shirt. He looked down, both seeing and feeling Helga shake against his chest. His eyes widened and tears pooled in his eyes. She was crying.

Arnold said nothing, but stroked her hair gently as she sobbed.

"I'm sorry, dear," Gertie said solemnly, picking at another rock, "but if the gravel doesn't come out, these will get infected."

Arnold felt Helga nod in understanding against his chest. "It's ok, Grandma." Arnold said interpreting the nod and stroking the blonde girl's hair again.

"Should I call Phoebe?" Gerald asked. "I know she'd want to know about this."

Another nod. "Yeah, you do that. Let Helga tell her about what's happened on her own terms though, ok?"

Gerald nodded and stepped out to call his girlfriend.

Gertie finally managed to get the last of the gravel out of Helga's knees and cleaned them both with a mixture of saline and peroxide before bandaging them.

Now that the worst was over Helga released her grip on Arnold and pulled back to have her arms and palms treated. She stopped short, however, when her eyes caught the blood stains on his shoulders.

"Oh." She whispered. Her voiced cracked a little as she spoke.

"Hm? What?" Arnold asked watching her intently.

"Your shirt..." She muttered quietly.

Arnold pulled his sleeve taut with one hand so he could see the shoulder of his shirt. "It's ok." He said releasing the fabric and turning back to face her. "No big deal."

Helga finally lifted her eyes up to catch his. Arnold smiled, a slight blush crossing his cheeks, making his eyes gleam.

Helga's eyes darted away shyly. Her eyebrows furrowed together when something else caught her eye. "Your cheek."

"Huh?" Arnold responded, slightly confused.

Helga reached up to touch the mark on his face causing Arnold to flinch. Helga immediately withdrew her hand. "Sorry."

Arnold gently brushed his finger tips against the sliced flesh. He had forgotten all about getting cut. It didn't really hurt very much, just something about Helga's fingers on his face surprised him. He felt his face heat up in a bright blush.

"No, it's fine. You just surprised me." He replied honestly.

"Got a few towels and here's some ice for your face, Helga." Grandpa announced handing a towel to Gerald who had just got off the phone and holding out the other two, along with a plastic bag of ice, to his grandson.  
>"Thanks, Grandpa." Arnold responded with a smile. He took the towel off the top and immediately wrapped it around Helga's shoulders before placing the other one on the tub beside him.<p>

"Phoebe says she'll be over as soon as she can." Gerald announced.

"That's an awfully long phone call for a such a small message." Arnold replied with a smirk.

Gerald chuckled. "Well, there was a lot more to it than that," He admitted, "but that's the gist of it."

"Eleanor dear," Gertie's voice got their attention, "I can't get at your other arm with you sitting on Arnold's lap like that."

Helga slowly shifted and sat on the tub next to Arnold in a quiet daze. It was as if her mind hadn't quite registered everything that had happened today and she was slowly attempting to process it.

Arnold suddenly felt cold from the loss of closeness with Helga. He shivered a little before grabbing the towel grandpa had given him and began to dry out his hair.

Luckily for Helga her knees were the worst of her injuries, her arms just looked bad. Before she knew it, the right arm was cleaned and bandaged . "All done, sweetie."

"Thank you." Helga mumbled quietly.

"Arnold, let me see your cheek."

Arnold obeyed and leaned forward so his grandma could examine the damage. "It doesn't look too bad." She said to herself cleaning it and applying a couple of butterfly bandages. Arnold smiled at the irony.

"Thanks, Grandma." Arnold stated when she was finished.

"You're welcome, dear. Now, why don't you all go hang out in Arnold's room while I make some hot tea?"

"Sounds great, Grandma. Thanks." Arnold rose to his feet and reached down to lift Helga from her spot on the tub. She winced as she slowly began to straighten her knees as best she could, using Arnold for support.

Arnold frowned as a almost inaudible whimper escaped her lips. He quickly stopped her ascent and scooped her into his arms. Helga blushed, but didn't protest. She once again wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly as he carried her up the two flights of stairs and finally up to his room before placing her gently on his bed.

Helga shivered and rubbed her arms, trying to warm them up. Without a moment's hesitation, Arnold went over to his closet and started rummaging around for a few minutes. He finally reemerged with a pair of plaid pajama pants and a black t-shirt.

"Here," He said holding them out to Helga, "I know they're going to be way too big for you, but you really need to change into dry clothes."

Helga nodded, eyes glued to the floor, as she took the items from Arnold, who, along with Gerald, retreated to the short hallway outside his room.

As soon as Helga was decent she announced as much. The door opened and Helga caught a glimpse of blue before being wrapped in a tight hug.

"Helga!" Phoebe squeaked out. "I was so worried! Are you ok?" Phoebe pulled back to look over her friend. "Oh my god, your face!" Phoebe sputtered before reaching out to touch the bruised skin under Helga's left eye. "What happened?"

Helga turned her eyes away and swallowed hard before answering. "Reggie...hit me."

Phoebe's hands shot up to cover her mouth and she shook her head in disbelief.

"Arnold whooped his ass too." Gerald announced proudly, slapping Arnold on the back.

"What happened?" Phoebe repeated.

Helga waved her hand in Gerald's direction, not really in a talking mood. Gerald took Helga's permission and quickly filled Phoebe in on the events of that day. As he spoke, Arnold seemed to be lost in thought. Turning something over in his mind. As soon as Gerald stopped though, Arnold's eyes widened.

"The bruises."

"What?" Gerald asked, confused as to the sudden and seemingly random remark from his football headed friend.

"The bruises." Arnold repeated, staring at the space in front of him. He finally turned his head to look at Helga. "Today wasn't the first time Reggie hit you...was it?" It was more of a statement than a question.

Helga pulled her lips into a thin line and turned away from his questioning gaze. That was all the answer he needed.

"Helga, why didn't you tell us?" Phoebe asked, trying to catch her friend's eye, but to no avail.

"I...couldn't."

"He threatened you, didn't he?" Arnold remarked.

Helga simply nodded. "He'll make good on his threat too. He always does."

"What are you talking about?" Gerald asked, his brow raising in curiosity.

"He said he'd kill me." Helga answered quietly, raising her head to look at her friends. "I wasn't the first and I won't be the last."

Arnold's face went white. "He's killed before."

**Author's Note: Holy freaking shit yo! This chapter was sooo amazingly fun to do. What can I say, I'm just a sick twisted person. Thank you to all my followers and to those who take the time to review. It really means a lot and is totally the fuel to my creative fire! You guys rock! :) Remember, updates every Wednesday!**


	7. Chapter 7

Everyone sat quietly, sipping the ginger tea Gertie had brought up along with some sandwiches. The tension in the room was so thick you could have cut it with a knife. No one seemed to know what to say at this revelation. Reggie was dangerous, he had killed before and he had certainly shown he was capable of that with the way he fought.

Arnold glanced over at Helga, the bruise on her cheek slowly turning a deep shade of purple. The sight of it made his blood boil. _How dare he!_ Arnold growled inaudibly. _How dare he lay a hand on Helga!_ Somehow, someway, he'd pay for this.

"Arnold, are you alright?"

Phoebe's voice snapped the blonde boy out of his thoughts.

"Fine. Why?" Arnold replied, trying to conceal his rage.

"Well, you're spilling tea on the carpet."

Arnold looked down. His hands were shaking so hard tea was sputtering over the edge of his cup. Arnold put the porcelain down and dabbed at the wet spots with his napkin.

"Hey man, I'm going to head home." Gerald announced, rising from his seat on Arnold's couch. "I need a hot shower and a meal. Those sandwiches your grandma made taste like they have straw in them."

Arnold smiled. "That's probably because they do." He pulled a blade of straw out to emphasize his remark.

Gerald rolled his eyes, but returned the smile.

"I'd better go home too. I still have an essay on Private Barton W. Mitchell to finish before Monday." She turned to her best friend. "Are you going to be ok, Helga?"

Helga nodded. "Yeah, I'll be ok. I'll see you on Monday, Phoebs." She sounded tired.

Phoebe and Gerald made their way out of the room, closing the door behind them.

An awkward silence buzzed heavily through the room. Arnold turned to look at Helga, hoping to catch her eye. She, instead, absentmindedly swirled her tea around with her spoon.

"Fuck!" Helga cursed without warning, making Arnold jump, spilling tea on the floor again.

"What is it?" Arnold asked, already at her side on the bed. "What's wrong?"

"Sorry. It's nothing. I-I'm fine." Helga said shakily while wiping her face with the back of her hand.

"Helga?" Arnold's face softened. He set down his cup again, before he did any more damage to the orange and yellow shag, and gently wrapped his arm around Helga's shoulders.

Helga jerked away from him and Arnold hesitantly pulled his arm back.

"Helga, what's wrong?"Arnold asked again. Helga whipped her head around to face him, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"Everyone saw me." She whimpered.

"Saw you?" Arnold repeated. She wasn't making any sense.

"Everyone saw me bawling like a big, fat baby! Everyone saw me looking weak and pathetic and..." She wiped the tears from her eyes angrily. "God dammit!"

Arnold frowned and put his arm around her shoulders again. However, instead of pulling away, Helga lunged at him, knocking him back onto the bed, buried her face into the crook of his neck and sobbed.

Arnold lay frozen in shock for a second before wrapping his arms around the crying girl and rocking her side to side as he stroked her hair.

"Shhh..." He hushed her sweetly. "It's ok."

Helga only responded by crying harder. She was so unbelievably embarrassed. Embarrassed that Arnold had seen Reggie hit her, embarrassed that she had cried like an idiot, and embarrassed that she was still sobbing like a sniveling wimp, which only made her more embarrassed.

Arnold held Helga as she cried. He didn't know what else to do. He rubbed her back and his lips started moving on their own accord, a quiet song coming from them. "You are my sunshine. My only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know, Dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away..."

Helga sniffed quietly before pulling back to look at him. "What was that?" She asked incredulously.

Arnold chuckled. "Sorry, I just didn't know what else to do."

Helga wrinkled her nose in mock disgust. "You're singing is terrible." She teased.

"Ouch." He teased back, hand over his heart. "That hurts."

Helga smacked him playfully on the chest before erupting into stifled giggles. Arnold laughed along with her. He loved the way she laughed.

"God, I'm such a basket case." Helga chuckled. "I feel like all I've been doing is crying like an idiot, or screaming at people."

Helga's laughter was cut off by a large yawn. She stretched a little, jerking suddenly when she stretched her arms a little too far.

"Ow." She grumbled, rubbing her left forearm in a soothing manner.

"Do you want me to take you home, Helga?" Arnold asked quietly. Helga froze and the color drained from her face. "You look pretty tired."

"No. I'm fine. I don't want to be more of a bother than I already am. I'll just catch the bus."

Arnold frowned. "It's no trouble, Helga. I'll just borrow the Packard and-"

"I said no!"

"Helga. It's not like you can walk."

"I can't go home! I don't have anywhere to go!"

Arnold opened his mouth to retaliate when what she said finally sunk in. "What are you talking about?"

Helga's lip quivered slightly, but she was determined not to cry. Not again. She had cried enough today as it was. God, she felt stupid. "I can't go home." She repeated a little slower.

"Is this about the fight you had with your dad?" Arnold asked curiously.

Helga nodded. "He kicked me out. Not that I care or anything." She quickly added the last part in a more defensive tone.

"So you were sleeping on the street!?" Arnold gasped. He pictured Helga wandering around in the snow (even though it was mid spring), shoeless and wearing nothing but rags, begging passing commuters for spare change. Her face pale and hallow from not eating.

"Of course not! I'm not stupid!" Helga retorted, bringing Arnold out of his reverie. "And even if I had been I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I was...staying with Reggie."

Everything suddenly made sense. Why her dad had said Helga didn't live there, the bruises, why she was late to class, and why Phoebe never knew where she was. Arnold's face paled. He suddenly felt a little dizzy from his epiphany. He held his elongated head in his hands as he tried to absorb everything he had just figured out.

"Look." Helga muttered, seeing his distressed reaction, "I'm sorry. I should have told you guys, but I didn't want anyone's help. I didn't want to be a bother to you guys and I didn't want your pity. I didn't want you guys to know."

"You should have told us." Arnold snarled, suddenly angry. "We're your friends, aren't we? You should have asked for our help, Helga."

Helga was taken aback for a second before growling. "Look. I said I was sorry. I didn't want your help and I still don't. I'm not interested in your charity, Arnoldo."

"Do you have any idea how worried we were about you?"

"Since when do you care?" Helga hissed, abruptly rising from the bed.

Now it was Arnold's turn to be throw off by Helga's comment. "What do you mean? I've always cared! When I saw you this afternoon I had never been more scared in my entire life!"

"Well, it's sweet justice or Karma or whatever, isn't it? I deserved everything that I got! I'm just weak and stupid and a horrible person, right?"

"No, but you're a fucking idiot!" Arnold's eyes widened slightly, surprised momentarily at his own language. "He could have killed you and you act like it's nothing!"

"I'm not acting!" Helga shouted. her pulse throbbing with adrenaline. "It is nothing! In fact, I wish he would have killed me!"

Arnold's mouth dropped open in shock. He couldn't get his brain to work and so Helga took advantage of his stunned silence to continue her rampage.

"You heard me! I wish he had killed me and do you know why? Because then, my parents would have their dream family with perfect Olga and have me, the mistake, the black mark, erased and I'd be just a horrible memory. Our 'friends' would finally be able to talk shit about me without having to walk on eggshells and you would finally have your personal hell disappear forever! I wish I had died!

Arnold suddenly leaped forward and grabbed hold of Helga's upper arms, shaking her fiercely. "If he had killed you I would have died!" His breathing was deep and ragged as if there wasn't enough oxygen in the world to quench his thirst.

Helga just stared at him. She watched as he attempted to compose himself by breathing heavily and staring into her eyes.

"If Reggie had killed you I would have died." Arnold said again, his voice cracking as he spoke. "I wouldn't know what to do or how to function anymore." He admitted quietly. "You may not think your family cares about you and may think our friends don't care about you, but Helga, don't you dare believe, for even one second, that I don't care about you." He slid his hands down her arms and held her hands together in his. "Because I do care about you, Helga." _More than you will ever know._

Arnold took a deep, cleansing breath and smiled warmly at Helga, who stood stunned at his remarks. After a moment she shyly returned the smile and gave his hands a gentle squeeze. She yawned again and pulled her hands away to cover it. Arnold frowned at the loss of contact.

"It's been a long day." Helga said quietly. "I should probably go." Helga turned and slowly hobbled to the door.

"Where will you go?" Arnold inquired. If she wasn't on good terms with her parents and now Reggie was out to get her, she really didn't have many options.

Helga's hand froze on the doorknob. Her shoulders dropped. "I... don't know." She admitted sorrowfully. "I guess I'll call Phoebe and crash at her place for the night."

Helga felt a warm hand wrap around her free one. She turned to see Arnold, a curious look on his face.

"You could sleep with me." He suggested.

Helga's face flushed beet red. "What!?"

Arnold blushed as well and pulled his hand back, suddenly realized what he had said. "No! That's not what I meant!" Arnold looked panicked. "I meant you could sleep in my bed."

Helga's eyes widened and her blush deepened even more.

"No!" Arnold stammered, "I mean you take the bed and I'll sleep on the couch!"

The two teens stared at each other for several seconds while Helga attempted to process his offer. She suddenly laughed. "Geez, Football Head, that's the most awkward way you could have said that."

Arnold rubbed his head embarrassedly. "Yeah, thanks, Helga."

"Thanks for the offer, Arnoldo, but I'll just call Phoebe. It's ok."

"Helga, you can't really move around very well and with Reggie still out there I'd really feel better if you stayed here where I-er, I mean, so Grandma can keep an eye on your wounds."

Helga had caught the Freudian slip easily and smiled inwardly at it. "Alright, alright. You win."

Arnold had been a complete gentleman about the whole thing, though he had to admit, even sleeping across the room from each other, having any girl sleeping in his room was kind of flustering, but with Helga it was like his brain was out to get him. Every single move she made his mind decided to misconstrue and somehow, even turning down the covers was a dirty thing that caused chills to shudder through him.

Helga nestled under the covers and, in just a few minutes, her heavy breathing told him she was in a deep sleep. He smiled to himself and pulled the blankets he had pulled out of the linen closet up to his chin.

Arnold shot one last glance in Helga's direction before closing his eyes and falling asleep to the soft pattering of rain against the skylight, a small smile on his face.

Helga bolted up with a start. Her breathing fast and shallow while her heart raced. She ran a shaky hand through her hair in an attempt to calm herself as she tried to figure out what it was that had woke her up in the first place. That was when she heard it. The distinct sound of the floorboards creaking under weight.

Her eyes squinted in the dark as she scanned the room. Her heart nearly jumped into her throat when she saw a dark figure standing near the bed, watching her. The hair on her arms stood on end and a chill ran through her.

"Arnold?" Helga squeaked anxiously. Her muscles tensing as she waited for a response.

Lightning flashed across the sky, briefly illuminating the room and Helga's heart dropped into her stomach.

"Guess again, bitch."

Reggie lunged at her. Helga tried to scream, but the noise choked and died as the brunette wrapped his hands around her throat and tightened his grip.

Helga struggled against her captor. Hot tears streamed down her face as she clawed in vain at his arms. Silently she begged Arnold to wake up, but his light snoring continued on undisturbed.

Reggie released her with one hand and reached into his pocket, pulling out his butterfly blade. Lightning flashed again, glinting menacingly off of the sharpened steel.

Helga managed a choking sound and Reggie smiled at her, his grin twisted and horrible.

"I told you I'd come back." He said. "I always do." Without another word he gripped the blade between both of his hands and plunged it into Helga's chest.

A loud, animalistic scream erupted from Helga's throat. Reggie pulled the bloody knife from her chest and stabbed her again.

Arnold was suddenly at her side. "Helga!" He shouted at her as Reggie stabbed her once more. Helga coughed and choked as blood filled her lungs. "Helga!" Arnold shouted again, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her roughly.

Helga's eyes shot open as she was jerked again. "Helga! Wake up!" Her wide blue eyes immediately found a pair of concerned green ones. Arnold reached out to brush the tears off her cheeks. "Are you ok?"

Helga sat for a moment, immobilized by fear, before throwing her arms around Arnold's waist and burying her head into his chest, bursting into a fit of sobs.

"I was so scared." She gasped between sobs. "It's Reggie. He was here and he-"

"Hey, shh." Arnold hushed quietly as he rocked Helga side to side. "It was just a nightmare. It's ok. I'm here. He can't hurt you. "

Helga nodded against him and her sobs finally quieted though she was still shaking, trying to rid herself of the flashbacks of her dream that plagued her.

"Are you ok."

Helga nodded again. "Yeah," her voice cracked a little as she spoke, "I'll be ok."

"Here, let me get you a glass of warm milk or something, ok?" Arnold stood to leave.

"No!" Helga panicked and threw her hands out, clinging to his shirt. "D-don't leave me!"

Arnold could swear he felt his heart breaking. The look of pure terror and desperation on Helga's face was like nothing he had ever seen before. Helga had always been strong and tough, yet here she was, slowly crumbling in front of him.

Arnold climbed onto the bed and laid down, pulling Helga down with him. He pulled the blankets over them before wrapping his arms protectively around her and drawing her into her chest.

Helga finally released her grip on Arnold's shirt and relaxed. She had never felt so safe in her life as she did at this moment, laying here in Arnold's embrace. She looked up to see him looking down at her. She was glad it was still dark. It made it impossible for anyone to see the deep blush that spread across her cheeks.

Arnold felt his heart leap and his face heat up once Helga's gaze met his. He never thought that his childhood bully would be in his room, in his bed and in his arms. The whole scene felt so surreal to him and yet, at the same time, perfectly natural, as if she was meant to be here with him.

"Helga," He began quietly, "I know you're strong and tough. And I know that Ol' Betsy and the Five Avengers could give anyone a run for their money." He chuckled, "I know you said you don't want anyone's help..." He reached forward, brushing the hair out of Helga's face, caressing her face as he did so. Just like he had at Rhonda's party, he mused. He felt himself move towards her, he hesitated for a second before placing his forehead against hers. "But I want you to know that I will always be here to protect you. No matter what."

Helga felt her mouth curve into a smile at his words. Arnold adjusted his hold on her before closing his eyes. Helga watched him for a few minutes before his face finally softened completely and his even breathing told her he had fallen asleep. She watched him sleep for a bit. She reached up and gently ran a hand through his hair.

Arnold stirred slightly before becoming still again.

Helga smiled. Her tired eyes drifted closed and soon after the only sounds that could be heard were the soft snores from the bed and the pat of rain that enveloped the room in a comfortable numbness.

**Author's Note: **Whew! Thank goodness! Most of this chapter was pushed to the side for most of the week due to a horrible case of writer's block. Uhg! Luckily on Monday I awoke cured due to reading fanfictions and hanging out with my backyard chickens yesterday. (Yes I have chickens, no I'm not on a farm ;).)

Anywho, I wanted to address an interesting comment I received. One of my readers remarked that I had stereotyped the teens a bit in my story by having them drink at Rhonda's party.

Something that I should have clarified (and will most likely fix) is that not all of the teens drank at that party. I can't imagine that Lila, Sheena, Eugene and Phoebe would have. Lila's too much of a pure, goody-goody, Sheena strikes me as someone who would be against it and Eugene is enough of a klutz without being impaired. As far as Phoebe goes, yeah, she defended it with her random knowledge of the law, but I don't think she would have drank either.

Something I didn't do that would have been an even worse stereotype is making them drink to the point of being drunk and hungover, which I also didn't clarify and perhaps will when/if I tweak the chapter. The only twits who actually got drunk were Reggie and his friends who are old enough to drink.

To me it seemed right being that they were mixed drinks and cocktails as opposed to cheap beers and jello shots. It would also be a social thing and not an all the time deal and only if you're rich enough to bribe the staff. ;)

My generalizing of the teens drinking may have been a bit of a stereotype and may not have been fair to the teens of the world who aren't partiers. I sincerely hope I didn't offend anyone with my generalization and hope I'll see you guys in the next chapter.

Lots of love,

Nicole


	8. Chapter 8

It was so quiet, so peaceful, so still. Arnold reluctantly opened his eyes against the dim light that filled his bedroom. The clouds, thankfully, kept most of the sun at bay allowing him to adjust to what little light managed to filter in. His eyes immediately fell upon Helga's peacefully sleeping face. Her breathing was soft and deep, her cheeks were pinked and imprinted with creases from the pillow, her hair was thoroughly disheveled and spread across the pillow in wild disarray, and a thin line of drool made its way down her face.

Arnold chuckled softly at the sight. Even in all her pre-morning-routine splendor she was still completely adorable. He removed his arm from around her waist and brushed her tangled, frizzy hair out of her face. Helga stirred slightly before her eyes slowly fluttered open. Arnold held her gaze for a few minutes as her brain attempted to soak in the scene.

"Arnold!" Helga suddenly shrieked, without warning and began to flail wildly to create some distance. This only succeeded in further tangling both teens up in the sheets, causing Helga to slide off the bed and Arnold, still tangled tightly, falling with her.

"Oof!" Helga squawked as Arnold landed directly on top of her. "Get off me, Football Head!" Helga growled with a flustered blush deepening on her face.

"I'm trying!" He wriggled against her, trying to pull away and free his legs.

Helga squirmed uncomfortably against him as her skin pulled slightly taut, bothering her bandaged skin. Arnold gasped suddenly at her movements and froze.

_Oh dear God, no! Not now!_

Helga caught the panicked look on Arnold's face and stared at him quizzically for a moment before feeling something shift against her thigh. _Oh God._

Her eyes widened and slowly she lifted them to meet Arnold's. She swallowed at his now dark eyes. His face paled beneath his blush. She noticed. _Shit._

Arnold stuttered incoherently for a moment before finally managing to create a sentence. "I'm s-so sorry! I-it's just-It's morning!" He choked out, thoroughly humiliated.

Both teens shifted frantically, trying to escape the awkward situation, but only succeeded in making it more awkward.

Helga suddenly gasped at the sensation of Arnold's morning wood against her upper thigh. Arnold froze once more, staring at the girl under him with a variety of different emotions and feelings etched onto his face. His eyes traveled to her lips, now pink and parted slightly , before back up to her eyes. He swallowed nervously before slowly lifting his trembling hand to her face, trailing it down her cheek before nestling behind her head. Helga's skin tingled at the contact and a shiver shook through her. Arnold slowly leaned forward, his movements were nervous and hesitant.

Helga reached up placing one hand softly on Arnold's cheek and the other on his neck, pulling him towards her.

The door swung open, slamming against the wall. "Hey, Shortman, your grandma made you and Helga some- cheese and crackers!" Phil yelped seeing the teens tangled up together on the floor.

"I-It's n-n-not what it looks like!" Arnold stammered. All the blood that had previously been in his pants was now in his face, making the entire football-shaped orb look like a bright red watermelon wedge.

Helga finally regained control of her senses and shoved Arnold off of her. Arnold yanked his leg free and rose to his feet.

"Geez, Shortman, the least you could do is lock the door if you're going to do that!" Phil teased.

"We weren't doing anything!" Arnold shouted.

"I know, relax, Shortman. I'm just giving you a hard time. Whew! I'm such a wiley old coot!" Grandpa chortled.

Arnold grumbled bitterly under his breath before reaching down to help Helga to her feet. She accepted his hand, but avoided eye contact by staring at the hem of the shirt she was wearing.

"As I was saying," Phil said after he had finished laughing, "Grandma made breakfast, hurry downstairs before that bum, Kokoshka eats it all."

"Yeah, we'll be right there." Arnold replied, taking note of Helga's silence.

Phil left the room and the teens stood unmoving in the awkward silence for a moment. Helga chanced a glance at Arnold out of the corner of her eye. Apparently Arnold had had the same idea and they caught the others eye at the same time. Embarrassed, they both quickly turned to look in the opposite direction.

"I uh, guess we'd better go eat." Arnold said quietly, trying to ease the tension in the room.

"Yeah." Helga replied curtly, heading for the door.

"So," Ernie addressed the teens as he reached for a sausage link, "thought you'd get a quickie in before school, eh?"

Arnold flushed. "We weren't doing anything!"

"Arnold, we were all teenagers once." Mr. Hyunh chuckled at the boy's expense. Both Helga and Ernie howled with laughter.

"Helga!" Arnold growled embarrassedly.

"So, Helga. How is the kid? On a scale of one to ten." Ernie ribbed light-heartedly.

"Eh, maybe a seven." Helga replied, suppressing a giggle.

The borders all laughed.

"Wow, Shortman! You're a seven! Not too shabby for your first time." Phil cackled. Gertie swatted him on the head with her spatula. "Ow! Pookie!"

"Now Phil, don't go embarrassing Arnold and Eleanor." Arnold breathed a sigh of gratitude at his grandma's words. "There will be plenty of time for that at their wedding." Arnold choked on his orange juice. Helga laughed as Phil smacked his grandson's back as Arnold attempted to breathe.

"So, Helga," Suzie interjected, trying to free Arnold from Ernie and Mr. Hyunh's teasing, "How's your mother these days? I haven't had a chance to talk to her the last few months."

Helga shrugged. "Fine I guess. She still passes out in the middle of the day so, same old I suppose."

"Hey, you spent the night right?" Ernie asked curiously. "I thought Arnold said you have a boyfriend."

Helga froze.

"Yes, that's what I heard as well." Mr. Hyunh nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, unless you are cheating on him." Oscar chuckled before being swatted on the arm by Suzie.

Helga cleared her throat before answering, "Yeah, I did."

"Is he the punk that gave you that shiner?" Phil inquired.

Helga slowly reached up to touch her cheek. She hadn't had a chance to look in the mirror, but she was certain her cheek looked awful. "Yeah." She said quickly.

What's with the bandages?" Ernie asked eyeing her arms skeptically.

"Maybe she is a mummy." Oscar laughed before being swatted by his wife once more.

Helga unconsciously rubbed her arm and glanced over at Arnold with a look that seemed to ask, _what should I say?_

Arnold shrugged. "It's up to you." He whispered just loud enough for her to hear.

Helga nodded and opted to tell the truth. The borders listened with interest and curiosity as Helga explained how she came to stay with Reggie and all the events leading up to her staying the night, minus sharing a bed with Arnold, which Arnold was grateful to have kept under wraps. He could only imagine the teasing that would incur had she said anything.

"Helga, you should report that weasle!" Ernie hissed, his face contorted into an angry scowl.

"I agree." Suzie added. "No one should ever be treated like that. You need to tell the police."

Helga shook her head. "It wouldn't make any difference. His dad is on the police force. He brags all the time about crap he gets away with. Besides," Helga continued taking a drink of orange juice, "he has friends all over the city who can cover for him and hide him. Even if the police did go after him, they'd never find him."

"So you're just going to let him win?" Arnold asked, his voice quiet.

"What choice do I have?" Helga shrugged. "He has the gang and his family and friends to protect him and I've got nothing."

"That's not true!" Arnold countered loudly, startling half the room, "You have me."

"And us." Phil said holding Gertie's hand.

"And all of us, right guys?" Ernie added, receiving nods from around the table, Oscar's with a little encouragement from Suzie.

Helga was momentarily taken aback. This entire room full of people with no relation to her had her back when her own family didn't. Blood of the covenant really is thicker than the blood of the womb. She swallowed hard to keep her emotional rollercoaster in check.

"Thank you."

Arnold took a break from him usual jaunt to school by borrowing his grandfather's car after the elder insisted he didn't need it today, but threatened to kill him if he so much as scratched it. Arnold had laughed at the comment, but still wasn't 100% certain whether or not Phil had been joking.

Arnold parked and hurried to Helga's door to help her out. Her knees and arms throbbed painfully in protest to her insistence on coming to school today.

Helga clung to Arnold's arm for support as she steadied herself. The fresh scabbing on her knees tugged with each little movement as Helga, still clinging to Arnold, began to hobble through the parking lot.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Helga?" Arnold asked as she gingerly stepped up on the curb. "You could have just stayed at the boarding house today."

"Nope." Helga replied as she flipped some loose hair out of her face, "I really don't think I could have. For one, Bob, Miriam and I aren't exactly on speaking terms, so I wouldn't be able to be signed out of school; and secondly, you'd insist on staying with me and I can't have you squandering your education, now can I?"

Arnold chuckled light-heartedly. She knew him so well. Before he had a chance to reply, a shriek caught his ears.

"Helga! Oh my God! What happened!?" Helga stumbled backwards a little as Nadine, Lila and Rhonda swarmed her unexpectedly.

"Huh?" Helga sputtered as the trio leaned towards to her look her over.

"You look positively ghastly!" Rhonda squeaked, horrified.

"What happened?" Nadine asked, her mouth pulled into a frown.

Lila looked Helga over for a moment before sudden realization dawned on her and her face paled.

"What's all the ruckus about?" Stinky asked curiously as he, Harold and Sid approached the group.

"Boy howdy, Helga! You look terrible!"

"Yeah. Thanks." Helga grumbled. She hated all this attention and wanted nothing more than to find a nice rock to crawl under.

"Hey guys!" Sheena greeted as she and Eugene approached.

"What's going on?" Eugene inquired before his scan of his friends found Helga's bruised face and bandaged arms. "Oh my goodness! What happened?"

Helga suddenly felt hot as all eyes turned on her. She cast her blue eyes to the ground. "Reggie happened." She revealed.

"You mean that asshole you're dating?" Harold spat vehemently.

Helga frowned curiously at him. "Was dating. Yeah."

"I knew he'd do something like this." Sheena suddenly declared angrily.

"You... you did?" Helga replied, surprised at this revelation.

"Yeah, he just has this... dark cloud around him. I get a funny feeling when he's in the room." Sheena answered, her voice thoughtful.

"I knew the kind of person he was the moment he walked into my house." Rhonda declared, flipping her hair airily behind her.

Nadine nodded in agreement. "They say it only takes thirty seconds when you first meet someone to determine whether you'll like them or not."

Helga winced as she shifted awkwardly. All the attention was making her extremely uncomfortable.

"Helga, would you like my doctor's number? She's really good. She'd probably be willing to check out your bandages for you." Eugene offered, his voice hopeful, but slightly reserved.

Helga stared at him in surprise for a moment before replying. "Uh, no. Thanks, Eugene. That's...really nice of you..."

The chatter around her stopped almost instantly as a huge grin split across Eugene's face.

"Did-did Helga Pataki just _thank_ someone?" Rhonda gasped.

"Wow, that was unexpected, but in a good way." Stinky stated in a daze.

Helga frowned. "Nice to know I'm such a bitch that a simple 'thank you' is newsworthy."

"It's not that it's newsworthy," Rhonda replied, "it's just that you're always like that."

Helga scowled, her fists clenching, digging her nails into her palms.

"Helga, I'm oh so certain that you're taking Rhonda's meaning out of context." Lila said quickly, noticing Helga's reaction.

"Am I?"

"I think what she means to say is that you're ever so independent so it's an oh so pleasant surprise when a compliment is given from you since you never need help from anyone. It makes it that much more special."

"It makes it more worth the earning." Sid added.

Helga's face softened. "Oh."

"What did you think I meant?" Rhonda asked curiously.

"I think she believed you were insinuating that she was a bitch, Rhonda." Phoebe answered quietly from the back of the crowd. She and Gerald had just arrived and noticing the congregation, decided to make their way over to investigate.

Rhonda paled and turned back to Helga. "Of course I'd never say you're a bitch!" She said quickly. "I mean yeah, sometimes you can be coarse and grumpy, not to mention violent and vulgar-"

"What Rhonda's saying," Gerald said loudly, cutting off Rhonda's barrage of thoughtlessness, "is that you're tough, but we're still your friends."

"Really?" Helga asked, eyeing Gerald in particular, as their relationship had always been the most strained, not that she could blame him.

"Of course, Helga. We care about you." Sheena stated.

"How?" Helga asked, genuinely surprised. "How can you still want to be my friend, especially after the past few weeks. I've treated you all like shit..."

"Helga," The voice startled the blonde. She turned to see Brainy standing beside her. How long had he been there? "Everyone is going to hurt you," he said quietly, taking a puff from his inhaler mid-sentence, "you just have to find the one's worth suffering for." Another puff. "You are worth suffering for. I should know." He smiled, his eyes lighting up with sincerity behind his thick glasses.

Helga blushed and gazed at her shoes for a moment before scanning her friends' faces, each of which echoed Brainy's expression. She bit her lip to keep it from quivering before reaching her hand down and quickly squeezing Brainy's. "Thank you."

"Group hug!"

**Author's Note: OMG! You guys, I am so so so sorry for the lack of updates the past couple of weeks. It wasn't even writer's block, it was creativity-in-general block. I couldn't even get any art out for my deviantart account. It was awful! Anyway, I'm back and I'm going to whip out as many chapters as I can while I have my second wind going to prevent these update-less weeks from happening again. See you all next Wednesday!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: Warning: Steamy Lemony goodness ahead.**

Helga sat quietly on Phoebe's bed as the shorter girl prepared for a date with Gerald. Helga watched with mild interest as Phoebe stood in front the mirror on her wall in her undies as she held one dress up to her, then the other.

"Maybe this one?" Phoebe asked again. "No no, perhaps this one..."  
>Helga opted to say nothing. She had already given Phoebe her opinion (the blue asymmetrical dress with the silver gems on the sleeve and side), but the poor girl was still struggling.<p>

"Maybe if I pair the gold dress with a bright shoe... How about the green ones?"

"Dammit Phoebe, what are you , a leprechaun? " Helga finally left her spot on the bed and snatched the gold dress away from her dark-haired friend. "Wear the blue dress, with..." Helga dug around in Phoebe's closet for a second before emerging, "the white heels" she continued, shoving said shoes into her friends already full arms, "and the silver necklace Gerald gave you for your birthday."

Phoebe readjusted her glasses before looking at the shoes. "Of course, why didn't I think of that." She looked up at Helga, a concerned look across her face. "Are you sure these will be ok? It's our two month anniversary. I want it to be special."

Helga shook her head. "Trust me Pheobs. You are going to turn heads. Besides, Gerald would want you even if you wore a burlap sack, which is still an option if you'd like."

Phoebe giggled at Helga's remark before slipping the dress on, being careful to not mess up her hair and makeup. "Are you staying here again tonight?" She asked as she fiddled with the zipper.

Helga moved in to assist her. "Probably not. Sheena has been pestering me to see a late movie with her and Eugene. I'll probably crash at one of their houses afterwards."

"You'd sleep over at Eugene's?" Phoebe asked with genuine curiosity.

"Why not? The kid is totally gay, it's not like he'd try anything and even if he did try something, Ol' Betsy has been aching for some action."

Phoebe giggled. "Poor Sheena. I wonder if she'll ever figure it out."

Helga smirked. "Probably not. Alas, love truly is blind."

Helga chatted excitedly as she, Eugene and Sheen exited the theater, the later looking a little pale.

"That was awesome!" Helga gushed enthusiastically. "The way that one chick was crushed by the garage door like that! You could actually hear her vertebrae snap!"

"Yes, I really enjoyed the... uh...score. It was beautifully written." Eugene offered in an attempt to remain optimistic.

"I've never seen so much gore in my life." Sheena muttered quietly, clutching her hand to her chest.

"Not a fan of the Evil twin franchise I take it?" Helga inquired with a grin.

"No-not exactly." Sheena admitted. "I've always been against violence, so..."

Helga chuckled. "Sorry, but there was no way you were going to drag me into that Wizard of Odds musical crap."

"Not a fan of musicals I take it?" Eugene quipped.

Helga laughed. "Not exactly. I've always been against musicals, sooo..."

The trio laughed heartily as they continued down the dimly-lit street, the occasional car passing them by. A headlights of an approaching car poured light into a nearby alley, making something catch Helga's eye. She froze instantly and stared nervously into the once again dark alley.

"Helga? What's wrong?" Sheena asked meekly. Sheena glanced in the direction Helga was looking. She saw nothing.

"Did you see something?" Eugene asked worriedly.

"No." Helga finally said, forcing her eyes away. "I guess not."

The teens continued on in silence for a few blocks before Helga broke the silence. "So, Phoebe's out with Gerald for the evening, any chance I could bunk with one of you guys?"

Eugene's smile faltered slightly. "Sorry Helga, my house is being fumigated again."

"And I'm leaving at 4am tomorrow to go on a camp out with my Uncle Earl." Sheena added guiltily.

"Oh." Helga replied disappointed. "But camping, that sounds like fun. I bet you'll have a great time. Except for you , Eugene. Sorry to hear that."

"Oh, don't be." Eugene replied with a grin. "My family is staying in a rundown motel with no heating and we have to huddle together to keep warm, so it's kind of like camping for me too."

Helga attempted a smile at his optimism. "That's great, Eugene." Her lacking enthusiasm going unnoticed by the pair.

"Sorry Helga." Sheena apologized.

"No, it's ok, I'll just bug Nadine or somebody. I'll see you guys later."

Helga waved her friends off as she turned the corner to continue walking. After another block Helga stopped in her tracks.

"Shit! Nadine is in Aspen with Rhonda for the weekend. I totally forgot!" She cursed, smacking her hand to her forehead.

A shadow suddenly darted passed her causing her heart to leap into her throat. She spun around, staring into the darkness that it had disappeared into.

"Sheena?" Helga called hopefully.

A grunting noise echoed from the alley way. Helga swallowed nervously, morbid curiosity compelling her to move forward. _Damn my inquisitive nature!_

"Eugene?" She tried again, her voice shaking a little as she took another step forward.

Whoever or whatever had grunted before stopped. She heard a sound like a shoe on the pavement.

Helga swallowed hard. She picked a small pebble off the ground and hurled it into the darkness. She heard a sudden shriek followed by the unmistakable clang of a garbage can toppling over.

Something suddenly sprinted out of the darkness towards her. Helga screamed and started to run down the street when she collided into something soft and fell to the ground.

"Out of my way- Arnold!" Helga gasped at the flaxen-haired teen before her.

"Helga?"

"Geez, Football Head! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"Good to see you too, Helga." Arnold chuckled as he extended his hand to pull her up.

Helga took his hand and pulled herself to her feet. His eyes held hers and at that moment, she never wanted to let go of his hand. It was so warm and his smile so inviting. She felt his hand tighten around hers as Arnold took a half-step forward, closing some of the distance.

Suddenly, something brushed against Helga's leg. She screamed and leaped into Arnold's arms. "What the hell was that!" She shrieked.

"Helga, relax. It's only Abner." Arnold replied with an amused chuckle.

"Abner?" Helga repeated and looked down. Sure enough, Abner snorted up at her as he munched happily on a slightly blackened banana peel.

Helga glared at the pig. "I should put you on a stick and roast you." Abner merely grunted and continued down the street. "Stupid swine, scared me half to death."

Helga turned to face Arnold and by doing so, was reminded of the fact that she was cradled in his arms. She blushed wildly and scrambled to get down. "And who said you could touch me, Football Head!" She snarled, though it came out far more flustered than she had expected.

Arnold laughed. "Whatever you say, Helga."

"What are you doing out here anyway?" Helga asked, less defensive.

"Going for a walk." Arnold answered, reiterating his statement by continuing his walk with Helga matching his stride. "You?"

"Just finished watching Evil Twin VI with Sheena and Eugene."

"Evil Twin? Doesn't really sound like a movie they'd like." Arnold's surprise evident.

"Perhaps not, but it was fun."

"So where you off to now?" Arnold asked.

Helga stopped for a second before catching up to Arnold once more. "Well, I haven't really decided yet." She confided.

"Do you want to come back to the boarding house for some cocoa or something?" Arnold asked hopefully.

Helga shrugged. "Sure."

It didn't take long for the teens to make their way back to the red brick building. Arnold opened the door, allowing a small horde of various animals inside before ushering Helga in as well.

Helga hopped up to sit on the counter while Arnold busied himself with a tea kettle and a couple mugs. After placing the kettle on the stove he leaned against the counter next to Helga.

"Any word from your parents?" Arnold asked casually.

Helga pursed her lips in a thin line. "Well, not really. My mom tried to call me yesterday, but I'm just not ready to talk to her yet."

"Don't wait too long, Helga. They may not be the greatest parents, but they're still there for you." Arnold smiled sadly before he continued. "You're lucky to have them be such a big part of your life. After I found out my parents were killed in fifth grade it was kind of a hard pill to swallow. I wish I could have known them."

Helga frowned. "I'm sorry. I know that was a really difficult time for you."

Arnold's lips turned up into a small smile. "Yeah, it was, but I suppose it's better to know for certain than to live my whole life in doubt." He reached back and grabbed Helga's hand. "I suppose I have you to thank for that. I never would have discovered the truth without you."

Helga smiled sadly. "I'm just sorry you didn't get your happy ending."

"Well, perhaps things didn't turn out the way I had hoped back then, but I have a good life, a loving family, awesome friends..." Arnold added giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "I guess I really can't complain."

Helga stared at him in wonder and complete awe. Even after being dealt such a poor hand in life, he was still that same optimistic and caring person he was in pre-school. Arnold turned his face back up to Helga and caught her staring at him.

"What?" He asked curiously.

Helga continued to gawk for a moment. "How can you be so happy?"

Arnold thought for a moment before answering. "I guess I just have so many blessings in my life and so much to be thankful for that even without the things I want, I don't feel like my life is lacking."

The whistling from the kettle pulled Helga out of her euphoric trance. Arnold poured the hot water into the prepared mugs, stirred each carefully and gently handed Helga one.

Helga muttered her thanks before taking a cautious sip.

"Ow! God dammit!" She sputtered jerking the mug away causing some of the scalding beverage to slosh over the edge and onto her hand. "Fuck!" She hissed dropping the mug.

"Helga!" Arnold firmly, but gently took Helga's hand in his and before he knew what he was doing he had his lips to her scalded skin.

Helga felt a jolt of electricity surge violently from his lips throughout her entire body. A hot blush filled her face as Arnold sat there nursing her burnt hand for a few moments. He finally released her hand, his face bright red and leaned forward catching Helga's lips in his.

Helga froze. Surely this had to be a dream, but the throbbing from her tongue and hand told her otherwise.

Arnold slowly pulled away, looking at her in silent caution.

Helga's lips buzzed from the contact. She unconsciously brought her fingers to her lips as if checking for some tangible evidence of what had just happened.

"What was that for, Football Head?" She breathed in little more than a whisper.

Arnold took a deep breath and swallowed awkwardly. "I guess I just needed to kiss them both better..."

Helga sat staring, her eyes locked onto the green jelly beans she recalled writing poetry about so many years ago.

As if drawn to do so Arnold cupped Helga's cheek with his free hand before slowly pressing his lips to hers again.

Helga felt her eyes close on their own accord as Arnold stepped a little closer.

Her mind swirled and sparked with the most delightful euphoric feeling, making the world around her disappear.

After only a minute Helga slowly responded to the kiss and pulled Arnold even closer to her. The passion built up inside of her throughout the years finally took over and the kiss quickly heated up.

Helga sucked gently on Arnold's bottom lip before slipping her tongue in his mouth and sliding it against his with passionate desire.

Arnold finally broke off, much to Helga's dismay. His breathing was heavy and his pupils dilated slightly.

"H-helga?" He whispered cautiously.

Helga stared silently waiting for him to continue. Instead of doing so, Arnold crashed his lips against hers fiercely.

Helga tangled her fingers up in his soft hair and Arnold wrapped his arms around her waist, dragging her off the counter.

Something almost animalistic seemed to take over him as she wrapped her legs around him. He pushed her against a nearby wall and released her lips to trail a line of kisses down her neck.

Helga gasped quietly before a moan escaped her throat. She let her legs down before grabbing Arnold's hands and placing them squarely on her breasts.

Arnold immediately stopped and pulled his face back to catch Helga's eyes. He gazed at her questioningly, as if making sure she was certain. With her breasts in his hands he was completely certain there would be no going back from here.

"Perhaps here is not the best place to do this." Arnold whispered, his voice thick with want and uncertainty.

Helga breathed shakily, attempting to catch her breath. "You're probably right." She resigned pulling away from him and attempting to straighten her now mussed hair.

"Helga," Arnold asked seriously, "are you sure this is what you want?"

Helga stared at him confused for a moment before Arnold continued.

"I'm a...v-virgin." He muttered shyly. "I'm a little inexperienced. I have no idea what I'm doing."

Helga brought her lips down to his briefly before answering. "I have never been more sure about something in my life." She declared boldly. Where the sudden empowerment came from she had no idea, but she was going to take advantage of it if it killed her.

Arnold pulled Helga up to his room, the hot chocolate and broken mug on the floor long forgotten. He locked the door behind him, not wanting a repeat of the first time Helga slept over and before it Helga was pressed underneath him on the bed.

Helga wrapped her legs around him once more as his tongue battled hers for dominance. She slid her hands up his shirt causing Arnold to gasp.

Helga pushed Arnold back a little to pull his shirt free before tossing it carelessly to the floor. She ran her hands over Arnold's bare chest and the sparse blonde hair that grew there. She slid her fingers across his hardened nipples, causing the blonde boy to gasp in both pleasure and surprise.

Arnold surprised her by crashing his lips against her even more fervently than before. He grabbed her breasts and kneaded them as best he could through her shirt and bra.

Helga moaned and bucked her hips against him in delight. Arnold slipped his hands under Helga's shirt and pulled it over her head. He kissed and suckled her neck and covered breasts before tracing a trail down her stomach and back up again.

A hand reached underneath him and cupped his stiff erection. Arnold groaned heavily at the sensation and again as Helga rubbed him through his jeans.

"Oh god." Arnold moaned, his eyes clenched tightly.

"Nope, but pretty close." Helga teased rubbing him harder.

Arnold raised his now shaking hands up to take off Helga's bra. He struggled with it for a few moments before Helga finally released her hold on him and unhooked it herself.

No sooner had she done so, Arnold pinned her to the bed and pulled her breast into his mouth. Helga had to bite he lip to keep from gasping so loudly as Arnold licked and suckled her hard nipple before continuing his ministrations on the other side.

"A-arnold..." She whispered, her voice deepened from desire. As Arnold played with Helga's breasts, Helga released the button from the front of his pants and slid the zipper down as quickly as she could.

"Oh Christ!" Arnold gasped at the feeling of Helga's hand grasping him. He grunted desperately at the sensation of Helga's hand moving up and down his hardened manhood. "Helga...oh god yes..."

Helga smirked in spite of herself when suddenly Arnold's hand grabbed hers stopping the motion.

"Helga..." Arnold whimpered, "I need you...now."

Helga's heart stopped. She had finally heard the words she had fantasized hearing from her beloved since she discovered what sex was and she suddenly felt very shy.

Arnold could sense Helga's hesitation and gently kissed her to reassure her. "Only if you want to, Helga. I don't want to force you into anything."

Helga felt her heart catch in her throat. How could he be so perfect?

She quickly shook her pants free as Arnold stripped the remainder of his clothes off. He stopped to admire her for a moment. Just looking at her beautiful athletic figure, toned, sleek and her perfect breasts, spread-legged, waiting for him.

Arnold swallowed hard before placing himself in between her legs, the tip of his penis touching her entrance.

"You're sure?" He asked again.

Helga nodded and with that Arnold slid into her.

Helga moaned loudly. Arnold was a bit shorter in length, but definitely thicker than Reggie was. She pushed herself against him, encouraging Arnold to go on.

He slid back and thrust into her hard making her moan with pleasure. He repeated the action and began to speed up a little with Helga's moans for encouragement.

Helga bucked against him, keeping in rhythm with Arnold, who reached down between Helga's legs searching for a moment. A loud gasp told him he had found what he had been searching for.

Arnold continued to thrust while rubbing Helga's clit.

"Oh god, Arnold! Oh god!" Helga breathed desperately.

"Mm! Helga!" Arnold gasped as he came into her. He slumped forward, sweaty and tired, continuing to rub Helga's clitoris.

"Oh fuck, yes!" Helga hissed as she felt the tightness pool inside her and finally releasing in a climax of complete ecstasy. Helga gently pulled Arnold's hand away as she attempted to catch her breath.

Arnold leaned forward to kiss her neck. Helga sprawled out as he did so.

"Wow... definitely better than a seven." Helga teased.

Arnold chuckled as he reached for a few tissues from a nearby shelf to clean up with.

Helga yawn and flopped onto her stomach, her nether-regions throbbing slightly and her head light.

Arnold laid on his back next to her with his arms beneath his head. Helga scooted over to lay her head on his chest for a while.

"You know, this isn't as comfortable as they make it look in movies." Helga mumbled tiredly.

"What do you mean?" Arnold asked curiously.

"I have no idea where my other arm is supposed to be. It doesn't really have a comfortable position."

Arnold chuckled again. "Here." Arnold flipped onto his side and pulled Helga into a spooning position. "Better?"

"Mm..." Helga sighed.

As the couple drifted into a blissful slumber a shadow from above them crossed the skylight making the shadow cross over their peaceful faces. The owner of the shadow was severely pissed off.

**Author's Note: No words will be able to make up for this impromptu hiatus, so I will say nothing about it...  
>Psh! Yeah right! I am so so so sorry you guys! D: I hope this fabulously lemony chapter has made up somewhat for my negligence and absence.<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

The boarding house slowly buzzed to life as Helga struggled to wake up. She peeked through one very tired blue eye to see Arnold with his arms wrapped tightly around her, still snoozing happily. Helga froze. Her face paled and her blood pressure shot through the roof. Panic seemed to overtake logical thinking and her fight or flight instinct kicked in.

Very slowly Helga pulled away from Arnold's embrace, her skin sticking to his a little as she did so. She watched his face for any sign of consciousness. Nothing. Helga breathed a sigh of relief and tossed her clothes back on as quickly and quietly a she could before returning to Arnold's sleeping figure.

"I'm sorry Arnold," she whispered quietly, "but you just wouldn't understand how it feels to endure one abusive relationship after the other then finally have the perfect person you've been waiting for and feel like you're toxic to them. As cliché as it sounds it's not you, it's me."

She placed a gentle kiss to his forehead stepped back a few paces before taking a quick leap over the bed and catching the ladder to the roof under her bare feet. She held her shoes in her teeth, looking rather ridiculous as she did so, before scaling the wall, opening the window and taking one last longing gaze at her beloved before climbing down the roof top and hurrying out of sight.

Arnold awoke with a panicked start just a few minutes later. His heart was racing as he glanced around the room.

"Helga?"

Arnold slipped out of bed willing himself to calm down. He wasn't sure what had startled him awake so abruptly, but he was still on edge even after regulating his breathing.

After a quick glance around the room Arnold had surmised that Helga had fled the coop, so to speak. He frowned dejectedly trying to understand why she would have left after last night without so much as a 'goodbye'.

Arnold sighed dejectedly before scooping up his pants and heading downstairs for breakfast.

"Hey Short Man, you're up early this morning."

"Hey Grandpa." Arnold replied, still moping.

"What's the matter Mr. President?" Gertie asked as she made Arnold a plate of french toast topped with various fruits and whipped cream to look like the American flag.

"It's nothing, Grandma."

The day had passed by painfully slow. The sun began to set casting beautiful oranges and reds across the sky as clouds began to gather, threatening rain. Arnold watched the ominous clouds for a moment before he picked up the phone and tried once again to reach Phoebe, hoping Helga might have ended up there.

"I'm sorry, Arnold, but as I told you when you called five minutes ago, Helga isn't here. I haven't seen her since she left my house last night to spend the evening with Eugene and Sheena. I'll call you the minute I hear from her."

"OK, thanks Phoebe." Arnold replied half-heartedly before placing the phone back into its cradle.

Arnold held his football-shaped head in his hands as he released a worried sigh. The phone suddenly sprang to life startling him. Arnold fumbled to pick up the phone and knocked it onto the floor where he answered it.

"Phoebe?"

"Arnold, it's Gerald." Gerald's voice was panicked and stretched thin. "Helga's in trouble.

Arnold felt his heart drop into his stomach.

"Wha-what?"

"I Just saw her fighting with that asshole boyfriend of hers before being dragged in the car."

"Gerald, where are you?"  
>"I'm by Circle Theater. They hit the highway heading east."<p>

"Shit. Did you try calling the police?"

"Man, how stupid do I look to you?" Gerald scoffed. "Of course I called the cops, but they just laughed and hung up. Helga wasn't joking when she said they wouldn't do anything."

"Son of a bitch!" Arnold paced his room frantically while tugging on his hair trying to think of what to do. He stopped mid step in the center of the room, his breath hitched in his throat. "Gerald, "he asked far more calmly than he felt, "how soon can you be here?"

"What do you think I've been doing this whole time, knitting? I'm outside your house now."

Arnold snapped the phone shut, grabbed his jacket and darted down the stairs, taking them three at a time.

Grandma stood at the bottom, looking oddly stoic.

"Where are you off to, Mr. President?"

Arnold slid his arms through his jacket before glancing at his grandmother.

"To rescue the First Lady."

"Ok, so where do we go? We don't know where this guy lives, hangs out, anything."

Arnold looked oddly calm, but the throbbing vein on his forehead said otherwise.

"We're going to find that weasel, Mickey."

Gerald nodded slowly before switching his old car into gear and pulling into traffic, heading east.

"Last I heard from Sid, Mickey spends a lot of time at The Needle in the low-rent district."

"Then that's where we're going."

Gerald seemed like he desperately had something to say, but bit his tongue. This did not escape Arnold's normally oblivious nature.

"What?"

Gerald opened his mouth, closed it then opened it again.

"I know you consider Helga your friend and you would risk your neck for any of us, but you seem...I don't know, darker than I've ever seen you. Did something happen between you and Helga?"

Arnold swallowed hard and stared out the window for a moment before answering.

"She stayed the night last night."

Gerald swerved a little in shock, but quickly righted the car to avoid hitting the barrier.

"You did what now?"

"Gerald, I love her."

Gerald swerved again.

"Would you quit trying to kill us?" Arnold sputtered holding onto the dashboard as Gerald swerved to correct himself.

"You-you love her? How long has this development been going on?"

Arnold sat quietly for a moment as he tried to think.

"I'm not sure." He replied honestly. "It's been coming on so gradually I hardly know." He thought for a moment longer. "I think it must have started when I first met her. She was muddy and soaked from the rain and looked positively miserable. The first thing I noticed about her was her big pink bow. It matched her pants."

Gerald cast a sideways glance at his football-headed friend as he merged off of the highway and onto a nearby side street.

"We're here."

The Needle was a desolate looking building that had long ago been condemned. Arnold climbed out of the car and closed the door behind him, his eyes fixated incredulously on the place.

"Are you sure this is it?"

Gerald nodded and the two walked towards the door.

"It's chained shut." Arnold stated seeing a thick chain and padlock keeping the door shut. "How do we get in?"

"Pst."

Gerald and Arnold turned towards the source of the noise, but could see nothing aside from an old rusty dumpster.

"Hello? Arnold asked quietly.

"Over here."

Gerald and Arnold exchanged glanced before walking towards the garbage bin. The lid squeaked open a little and only a pair of eyes could be seen.

"Password."

"Password? We don't have a-"

Gerald slapped his hand over Arnold's mouth. "We're looking for the funhouse."

"Is the circus in town?" asked the voice from within the dumpster.

"No, it's a carnival."

The lid suddenly swung open and a large tough looking guy with tattoos and large gauges in his ears appeared before them apparently granting them passage.

The pair climbed into the dumpster and crawled through a hole in the side which placed them at the top of a spiral staircase.

"Come on." Gerald said pulling Arnold along.

"What did you say to that guy?"

Gerald glanced at Arnold briefly before answering. "I told him we were looking for drugs. Sid taught me."

"Sid? Sid is into drugs!?"

"Used to be."

Before Arnold had time to panic more they reached another large thug next to a portrait of Mother Theresa.

"We're looking for Mickey." Gerald stated calmly.

The thug nodded and pushed the portrait at an angle to reveal a hole in the wall.

Gerald and Arnold quickly climbed through into the middle of the biggest underground rave in Hillwood. Bright colored lights reflected off the fog from the smoke machines temporarily blinding the duo as loud trance pulsed through them.

Gerald shouted something to Arnold.

"What?" Arnold shouted back.

Gerald shook his head. The music was too loud. He gestured to follow him. Arnold stayed close while nervously glancing around at the people around him. Everyone looked completely out of their minds and it made Arnold uncomfortable.

Finally they weaved their way through the crowd to several tables and bench seats set up on the wall, one of which sat Mickey twitching from whatever he was tweaking out on at the moment.

"Hey Weasel!"

Mickey's head shot up. It took him a second to recognize who was yelling at him.

"My sources tell me you might be looking for some time in the funhouse tonight." Mickey said cryptically

"Actually, we need information." Arnold responded.

Mickey looked slightly alarmed, before narrowing his eyes into a more relaxed state.

"That will cost you."

Arnold immediately pulled out his wallet and shoved the contents of it into Mickey's grubby, outstretched hand.

The weasel counted the money carefully before smiling happily and stretching out on the bench.

"How can I help you boys?"

"We're looking for Reggie, Helga's boyfriend. Do you know where he is?"

Mickey's eyes shot open and bolted upright from his relaxed position into a very alert stance.

"I don't know nothin' about nothin'."

"The hell you don't." Gerald growled angrily and lunged for the sneak. Mickey dodged Gerald's grasp and ran for the door.

Gerald and Arnold chased after him, shoving through couples and knocking people over to keep up. Finally Gerald caught Mickey by the leg as he attempted to scurry up the stairs. The two scuffled for a moment before Mickey managed to toss Gerald into the banister face first.

He ran for the stairs again, but Arnold grabbed him and threw him against the wall.

"Enough!" Arnold shouted in the punk's face. Gerald quickly recovered and stood to the side watching his best friend.

"You are going to tell me what I need to know.

"I told you, I don't know anything!" Mickey squeaked.

"You're lying! I know you know and you're going to fucking tell me!" Arnold grabbed the front of Mickey's hoodie with his fists and lifted him up against the wall with strength he didn't know he had.

"If I tell you I'm a dead man!" Mickey coughed out as Arnold tightened his grip.

"You're a dead man if you don't!"

"Ok! Ok!" Mickey coughed again. "Try the abandoned warehouses. He and his friends go there to dispatch people who cross them."

Arnold dropped Mickey to the ground where he sat sputtering and turned to run up the stairs, Gerald right behind him.

Arnold climbed out of the dumpster and darted to the car as fast as he could go. He tugged on the handle finding it locked.

"Fuck!"

Gerald fumbled with the keys for a few seconds before getting the car unlocked and sliding in, Arnold following suit.

The pair peeled out of the lot and down the street at less than safe speeds.

"Oh fuck." Gerald cursed under his breath as he went through a stop sign, nearly hitting another car in the process.

Arnold was silent the whole trip until they finally pulled into the warehouse lot.

"Shit, there's a ton of these things! Which one is it!?"

Gerald stopped the car and both of them got out, not bothering to close the doors.

"I don't know, but we can't panic, we have to keep our heads clear enough to help Helga."

Arnold nodded and began running through the middle of the warehouses glancing back and forth between them as he did. Gerald followed close behind him watching for anything Arnold may have missed.

Arnold could feel his heart beating painfully against his ribs and his lungs burning for air as he ran. _Where could she be?_

The duo turned down another row of warehouses and one immediately caught Arnold's eye.

"That one!" He declared making a beeline for the dilapidated aluminum structure.

"What makes you so sure?" Gerald asked curiously.

Arnold reached the door of number 118. "I can feel it." He whispered before pushing open the door.

**Author's Note: Sorry for such sporadic updates guys. My life has just been hella crazy these last few months. Started a new job, my father-in-law died, I had a seizure (long story*) my cat died and just general insanity. **

**So, holy shitstorm ahead. Tattered Ribbon is nearly at its climax, the end is nigh, I'm thinking maybe 2 or 3 more chapters. Soooo exciting! **

***Long story for those interested: So, I have seizures though I have no clue why, heredity maybe? They started after I got married so it's kind of a new development. Anywho, as long as I'm taking my medication I'm fine. I was sent a different generic brand than the one I have been taking and didn't think anything of it. Apparently after a bottle and a half of taking this (a few months?) I had a seizure out of the blue. I took my medication the night before so I had no clue why this happened. After some blood work I found out I wasn't absorbing this particular generic and the drug showed up as nearly 0% in my blood stream. Fun times. My neurologist upped my dose and I'm not taking that generic any more, but it always knocks me for a loop and I'm always exhausted the entire day afterwards. Seizures are exhausting. It always leaves me pretty scatter-brained for about a week afterwards too, which really sucks. :/**


	11. Chapter 11

The door opened easily and Arnold and Gerald cautiously entered the dimly lit warehouse. It was filled with broken wooden crates, tarps, ropes and it smelled like dust and old kerosene.

Arnold cast his eyes around watching for Reggie when the dim light caught something pink.

"Helga!" Arnold shouted as he ran to her. She was tied up against one of the many concrete pillars keeping the structure of the building. She was limp and unresponsive as Arnold dropped to his knees to check her over.

"Helga!" He shouted again, brushing the hair from her face and giving her shoulders a little shake.

"Well well, if it isn't little Oswald."

Arnold and Gerald spun around to see Reggie walking towards him, his friends flanking his sides. Light gleamed off of the brass weapon on Knuckles' fists, Scrappy swatted a baseball bat lazily into his open hand and Kyle scraped her crowbar against the concrete, emitting sparks.

Arnold stood, carefully placing himself between Helga and Reggie's gang.

"My name is Arnold." Arnold replied with a snarl.

"Arnold? What kind of name is Arnold?" Scrappy snorted.

Arnold ignored him, keeping his eyes trained on Reggie. "Reggie, you don't have to do this. Let Helga go."

Reggie smiled, his face twisted and terrifying. "Oh, I'll let her go... Straight to Hell!"

Like someone opening a can of shaken cola, Reggie's friends dove at Arnold and Gerald. Arnold narrowly missed a blow to the head from the crowbar, but caught the baseball bat with his stomach. Arnold gasped in pain as he hit the ground, but didn't have time to catch his breath as the crowbar came straight down at him. Arnold leapt out of the way a fraction of a second before the crowbar connected with his groin. Instead it hit the concrete with sparks and a loud clang.

Gerald grabbed Scrappy and tossed him to the ground trying to give his buddy some breathing room. Scrappy lost hold of the bat momentarily, but managed to grab it and butt Gerald in the chin with the end of it.

Arnold watched Gerald stumble backwards before regaining footing, dodge a swing from Scrappy and tackle the son of a bitch. Arnold dodged another punch from Knuckles, but didn't miss Kyle tripping him. He rolled away from the swing of the crowbar and rolled up onto his feet.

"Reggie you coward!" Arnold shouted using a pillar to block him from the crowbar before kicking Kyle in the stomach. "Why don't you fight me yourself!?"

Reggie simply smiled. "Watching you get torn to shreds is half the fun."

Gerald bent backwards to miss getting clocked by the baseball bat which ended up hitting an unsuspecting Kyle in the face, crushing her cheek bone and knocking her to the ground. Her crowbar swung up, knocking out the light bulb making the single over head light spark and flicker, lighting some oil-soaked rags ablaze.

Scrappy was taken off guard for a moment by Kyle and didn't see Gerald's foot coming upside his head. Scrappy fell to the ground, but quickly recovered coming back with a vengeance. He sucker-punched Gerald when the light flickered again, giving him momentary cover. Gerald gasped out loud before getting punched in the face.

Arnold ducked around another pillar to miss Knuckles' deadly punch. Knuckles seemed completely unfazed by the fist-sized crater his right hook left in the solid concrete, Arnold, however, noticed and swallowed nervously as he dodged another punch, feeling the breeze created by the fist whizz passed his head.

Scrappy swung his leg up, connecting it with the side of Gerald's head. Gerald hit the floor with a loud clap, hitting the back of his head hard on the concrete. He shook his head to rid himself of the pain and the dizzy feeling he felt and swept his leg against the back of Scrappy's knees, causing him to trip. Gerald took the opportunity to swing his leg down and grind his heel into Scrappy's groin. Scrappy squeaked out in pain, cupping his jewels desperately in his hands.

Arnold's luck finally ran out when Knuckles' fist connected to Arnold's chest, knocking the wind out of him and breaking several ribs. Arnold hit the floor hard and gasped for air. Knuckle's moved to stomp on Arnold's throat only to have a baseball bat splinter over his head.

Pissed, but otherwise unharmed, Knuckles spun around to see Gerald holding the end of the shattered bat in his hand while desperately glancing around for another weapon. AS he stepped backwards to create a little distance between himself and the behemoth of a man, Gerald felt something hard and metal tap the back of his shoe. The crowbar! He seized it, holding it in front of himself like a child fighting a giant.

Arnold moved forward to help his friend when someone grabbed the back of his collar and threw him back to the ground.

"I have fucking had enough of you." Reggie seethed, clocking Arnold in the nose.

Blood spurted from the injury and Arnold stumbled backwards a little to give himself time to wipe some of the blood on his shirt sleeve before putting his fists back up defensively.

The flames from the oil soaked rags had spread to the crates, encircling the group in what looked like a literal hell. Black smoke began to billow around them.

"Reggie, this is insane. We need to get out of here or we'll all burn to death!" Arnold shouted, attempting to reason with the lunatic.

"I'll leave after I kill you and this bitch!" He snarled waving lazily in Helga's direction. With that, Reggie swung his fist at Arnold's face.

Gerald was quickly running out of ideas and space. He had no idea how he was going to get away from Knuckles and not get beaten to a pulp in the process.

He swung the crowbar at the thug only to have Knuckles catch it easily in his hand, tossing it somewhere behind him.

Gerald plucked a plank from a broken crate next to him and swung it as hard as he could. Knuckles grabbed it and crushed it into splinter in his massive fist.

A sudden coldness touched Gerald's back. It was the wall! Gerald looked frantically for a weapon, but to no avail. Knuckles quickly closed the gap and grabbed Gerald by the throat, sliding him up the wall to be strangled by his own weight and by Knuckles' rage.

Arnold punched Reggie in the jaw and quickly swept his leg underneath his foe, knocking him to the ground. The football -headed hero dove on top of Reggie, but Reggie anticipated his move and used his legs to kick him over him and into a pillar.

Arnold his back first and dropped painfully onto the ground. The pillar had apparently been unsound and was released from the ceiling due to the force of Arnold hitting it and began to fall away from the ceiling.

Gerald could see lights in his vision and his lungs burned for air as Knuckles tightened his grip even more. Gerald kicked and swung his legs helplessly as he clung to Knuckles' wrist, trying to keep his own weight from doing him in.

A light crinkling noise caught Gerald's ears. He looked up to see one of the pillars release from the ceiling and begin to fall towards him and Knuckles. Gerald scrambled and fought frantically as the pillar gained speed. Finally, with no other options and no air to speak of, Gerald rammed his fingers into Knuckles' eye, puncturing it and causing it to ooze and bleed.

Knuckles loosened his grip a little, just enough for Gerald to kick the man's throat and dive out of the way as the pillar toppled onto Knuckles, crushing him and no doubt killing him.

Gerald coughed and sputtered, drawing in what oxygen he could before standing up on shaky legs to help his best friend.

Arnold climbed onto his knees to catch his breath for a second before grabbing the crowbar that came from who knows where and rushing Reggie.

Arnold swung the iron bar at the leather-clad man, who dodged it easily. Reggie grabbed onto the crowbar and attempted to shake Arnold off of it. Arnold clung to it with both hands as did Reggie. Each trying to throw off the other in fierce battle of wills and strength.

Arnold suddenly realized Reggie's arm was strangely cast-less.

"Didn't I break your arm just a few weeks ago?"

Reggie sneered. "Nothing that a bit of medical grade steel and some pain killers couldn't fix."

"Arnold?"

A small mew caught Arnold's attention.

"Helga!" She was awake and looked confused and scared.

Reggie used the distraction to throw Arnold off balance and swung the crowbar down to hit him. Arnold regained focus and rolled to avoid being hit.

"Hey Arnold!" Gerald shouted before throwing something in his friend's direction.

Arnold caught it easily and looked down at the metal in his hand.

_Reggie's knife? How is this going to help me?_ Arnold questioned before ducking once more to avoid having his head bashed in.

Arnold flipped the blade out and took a defensive crouching stance to prepare himself for whatever Reggie would throw at him.

"Gerald!" Arnold shouted at his friend as he jumped back to miss getting hit then took the defense breech to kick Reggie in the face, gaining a little ground, "Where's Kyle, Scrappy and Knuckles?"

"On the ground. I think Knuckles might be a goner."

Reggie dove at Arnold's legs knocking him to the ground. They scuffled for a moment before Arnold managed to pin Reggie by rolling his foe on his back and holding his arms behind him.

"Well, get them out of here and call the cops! Hurry!" Gerald shrugged and wandered into the smoke to find the unconscious gang members.

Arnold watched his friend go and Reggie, seeing Arnold was distracted, freed his arm and elbowed Arnold in the face before shoving him off.

Arnold wiped away the blood pooling into his eye and once again held his fists in front of himself.

Reggie glanced around quickly. The crowbar was nowhere in sight. Instead he plucked the knife that lay discarded from the scuffle and once armed he lunged again for Arnold.

Arnold dodged, but could feel himself getting tired and his movements a little slower.

Reggie swung at him, leaving a deep gash on Arnold's arm. Arnold hissed and clutched his arm with his free hand momentarily before dodging another kick to the face.

Arnold put his hands back up despite the pain in his left arm.

Reggie laughed.

Arnold lowered his guard slightly as Reggie continued to laugh. He looked to Helga then back at the laughing maniac before him.

"Oh my fucking God!" Reggie gasped out between laughs. He wiped away a tear from laughing so hard and pocketed the knife as he did so. "This has all been very entertaining, but I have some other stuff to take care of tonight so...let's end this."

Reggie pulled his hand back out of his pocket and in it was,

"Oh shit!" Arnold dove out of the way as Reggie fired a shot in his direction.

Reggie laughed again. "Like it? It's my dad's. I can't legally have one of my own, so I figure using my old man's is the next best thing. As long as I buy replacement ammo, he's none the wiser."

Reggie fired another shot, but it was sloppy and missed Arnold.

_I have to get him away from Helga!_ Arnold thought as he ducked behind a pillar to avoid being hit.

"Wanna know what's really great about these bullets?" Reggie continued. "These are hollow points. Normal bullets will either go right through you or stay in depending on the caliber, but hollow points are different. They shatter inside of you and macerate your internal organs. Isn't that great?"

"Super." Arnold retorted.

Reggie fired again and Arnold ducked behind a few crates. The gunman fired several shots into the crates and Arnold panicked.

_If I stay here he'll hit me for sure!_ With that thought Arnold dove behind a neighboring pillar to catch his breath and plan his next move.

_The crowbar! _Arnold picked it up and thought carefully about what he needed to do._ I have one shot at this..._

Arnold took a deep breath and dive-rolled out of position. Reggie fired at him, missing only by millimeters. Arnold hurled the end of the crowbar at Reggie with all his might.

Arnold watched as the crowbar found its target and imbedded itself in Reggie's thigh.

"Ah FUCK!" Reggie screamed in pain. Arnold dove at his attacker, knocking the gun out of Reggie's hand.

Reggie rolled on top of Arnold and held him down as he dug the butterfly blade out of his pocket.

Arnold gasped and struggled against Reggie when Arnold heard a soft "thwack" sound and Reggie stopped.

He slammed Arnold's head against the ground before turning around to see what had hit him in the head.

A single black shoe.

Helga sat angrily on the floor, shoeless. She had missed the first time and her other shoe lay several yards short of its target.

Too angry to say anything she just glowered at Reggie and breathed heavily.

Arnold lay dazed on the floor as Reggie rose, kicked Arnold in the side, causing him to roll several feet before limped towards Helga, the crowbar still lodged in his leg and the knife clenched tightly in his fist.

Reggie pulled Helga up by the hair so she was face to face with him. Aside from a few tears poking at her eyes, there was no other sign that having her hair yanked up like that had hurt her.

Reggie grabbed her face tightly in his free hand, making her cheeks sink in and her lips pucker slightly.

"You must think you're pretty fucking brave, Pataki." Reggie hissed as he traced the blade of the knife down her face.

Helga flinched, but said nothing.

Reggie crashed his lips to hers before suddenly jerking back in pain.

"You bitch! You fucking bitch!" Reggie screamed spitting blood from where Helga had bit him.

Without another word Reggie plunged the knife into Helga's chest.

Helga screamed in pain and tears streamed down her face. She slumped down the pillar, her arms still bound painfully. Her voice was raw and animalistic as Reggie stabbed her again.

"Helga! NO!" Arnold screamed. Reggie sank the knife into Helga's flesh once more and Arnold searched around him frantically, making him a little dizzy.

His eyes landed on something reflecting the flames. The gun!

Arnold snatched it as Helga's screams pierced his flesh and bone, his very soul.

He held the gun in front of him shaking hard as he fired a shot.

He missed completely, hearing the bullet ricochet off the concrete and Helga scream again.

Arnold aimed through blurry tears and pulled the trigger.

Reggie froze, knife held high, before the blade slipped through his fingers and Reggie toppled to the ground, blood pouring from his mouth, nose and ears.

Reggie was dead.

Arnold dropped the gun as blaring horns and sirens in the distance came closer and closer. He scrambled towards Helga and dropped to his knees in front of her.

"Helga! Fuck! No! Helga!" Helga gasped. Each painful breath pushed frothy, red bubbles through the shreds in her shirt.

Arnold held her tightly as he plucked the knife off the ground and cut the paracord between her wrists. Her full weight fell into Arnold's chest as car doors slammed somewhere behind him.

"Helga, don't leave me."

"They're over here!"

The sounds of fire extinguishers and running footsteps emitted from somewhere behind them.

"Don't you fucking leave me!"

**Author's Note: Holy SHMOE! Amiright? Freaking Reggie is crazy beyond belief! Could you tell I was listening to screamo this whole chapter?  
>With this chapter up and doing it's thang I'm pretty sure I have maybe one chapter left and an epilogue to go.<br>Oh my freaking hell! Talk about crazy. Took me long enough to do though (sorry), but know that I'm feeling the magic touch of the muses I'm ready and rearing to go :) **

**Also, HUGE shout out to you readers and especially those who reviewed! you guys are totally bitchin'! **

**Also, also: I'm planning on doing a Q&A at the end of the final chapter. For anyone interested in participating, if you have a particular question about the story, characters, hell about me even, let me know in a PM or in your review.**

**See you in the next chapter! B)**


	12. Chapter 12

The hallways at Hillwood City Hospital smelled like sterile cleaners and plastic. People in white coats and scrubs hurried passed the chair that Arnold sat in. His large, oblong head resting in his hands as he stared blankly at the floor. Gerald sat next to him staring up at the ceiling and occasionally at the door a little ways up the hall from him.

A loud clatter tore Gerald's attention away from the door. A nurse at the desk had accidentally dropped her clipboard, scattering documents everywhere. Gerald looked at Arnold who remained unmoving and opted to pull his legs up on the chair, wrap his arms around them and rest his head atop his knees.

"Gerald Johanssen?" Gerald looked up upon hearing his name. "We need your statement. Could you come with me please?"

Gerald nodded, gave Arnold another glance and followed the officer down the hall.

Arnold sat quietly on the seat, butterfly bandages were taped across his forehead and his arm had been stitched and bandaged from where he had been cut. He absentmindedly rubbed the bandage on his arm. His grandpa noticed.

"Does your arm hurt, Shortman?"

Arnold shook his head. "No." He mumbled quietly.

A door opened and Arnold's head snapped up. It was the wrong one. He sighed slumped down in his chair and ran his hand through his hair.

A little girl with a tired smile and a bald head was being wheeled down the hall.

"I won." She said happily as her parents cried tears of joy next to her. "I finally won."

Arnold watched as the group turned the corner before being startled by the door across the hall from him opening and Helga's parents talking quietly with the doctor before leaving, Olga tailing behind, wiping her mascara smeared face with a tissue.

Finally Phoebe emerged. She held her glasses in one hand while dabbing at her eyes with the other. She blew her nose before replacing her glasses and turning to Arnold.

"Helga would like to see you now."

Arnold swallowed hard and looked to his grandparents for encouragement.

"Go on, Arnold." His grandmother urged. "We'll be right here."

Arnold took a deep breath, took the bouquet of flowers from his grandma and peeked in the door.

Helga laid quietly on the bed. She was hooked up to all sorts of machines and monitors and a saline drip hung from a metal rack near her dripping slowly into the drip chamber and into the catheter taped in place to the back of her hand. Her breathing was shallow and weak with a low wheezing and gurgling sound.

It was then Arnold noticed she had a drainage bag taking the blood away from her lungs.

"Don't look so solemn, Football Head." Helga smiled weakly.

Arnold nearly cried.

"Helga!" He hurried to her side, plopping the flowers down unceremoniously on the side table before gently kissing her over and over all over her face.

Helga sighed contentedly, but it came off as more of a choking sound.

"Arnold?"

Arnold pulled away just enough to look Helga in the eye.

"Please sit down."

Arnold quickly obeyed, pulling the chair next to the bed up to sit in it, holding gently, but desperately to Helga's hand.

"Arnold, I uh... talked to the doctor and well, I realize that I need to tell you something. Something very important."

Arnold said nothing, but waited for her to continue.

"This thing, I've kept a secret almost my entire life and I realize now that if I don't tell you now, I may never get another chance."

"Sure you will, Helga-" Helga held her hand up to Arnold's lips to silence him and she continued.

"Arnold, do you remember the first day we met?"

Arnold nodded. "It was the first day of preschool."

Helga smiled warmly at the memory. "My parents were so busy fawning over perfect Olga that I had to walk to school myself." She added. Helga coughed a little before continuing.

"I walked the streets of Hillwood alone in the rain. A passing car splashed mud all over me and a stray dog stole my Charlie's Angels lunch box before knocking me onto the ground. It had been a pretty damn miserable day."

She chuckled to herself before her eyes glazed over with a faraway look.

"But then... a small, football-headed boy in a yellow raincoat held a blue umbrella over my head and said the first kind thing anyone had ever said to me." She stopped and turned to hold Arnold's gaze.

"Do you...remember what that was?"

Arnold felt tears sting his eyes. _The first kind thing anyone had ever said to her?_ Instead of fighting them back, Arnold allowed the tears to stream down his face.

"I-I told you I liked your bow, because it was pink...like your pants."

Helga smiled. Tears leaking from the corner of her eyes. She pulled her hand free and reach up behind her head, pulling at something.

She brought her hand back to Arnold's and clasped her hand with his. Arnold could feel something soft and light tickle his hand.

"Arnold, I love you." Helga said quietly with conviction. Arnold felt his heart skip a beat. "I have always loved you. Ever since we first met. When I confessed to you back on the rooftop of the FTI building I was telling the truth."

Arnold frowned a little. "Then why'd you take it back?"

"Technically you let me take it back. We were both scared little kids and so I accepted your offer to take it back." She replied simply.

Arnold stopped for a moment. "Then why were you so mean to me?"

Helga smiled sadly, "I think it was just my way of keeping the other kids from finding out. I didn't want to get made fun of so, I opted to bully you to prevent them from ever knowing. Though Lila eventually found out. That girl is sneaky."

Helga coughed hard and loudly for a couple minutes while Arnold sat terrified. She eventually calmed down and took a look at her hand.

"Helga, you're bleeding!" Arnold moved to call for help, but Helga stopped him with her clean hand.

"Arnold, wait."

Arnold stopped and stared at her in shock and pain.

"You're... really just going to walk away, after what I just told you?" On her face she wore a joking smile, but in her eyes, there was something else there. Something that terrified him. Almost like pleading.

Arnold sat down again and watched Helga carefully for a moment to make sure she was ok.

"I love you too, Helga."

"Don't. Please. I don't want you to say it to humor me." Helga smiled sadly.

Arnold frowned. "Helga, you know me better than that. After everything we've been through, the last thing I'd do is lie to you. Especially after...well, you know..."

Helga looked away, a small smile creeping up her face.

"I don't think I realized just how much I love you until He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named came along."

"Lord Voldemort?" Helga questioned jokingly.

Arnold rolled his eyes. "I think I tried not to feel it. Since you were so mean to me, I always assumed you hated me, but after thinking it over, I think I've loved you for a long time, but just couldn't bring myself to say it. You're right, I was scared."

Arnold paused a moment, searching Helga's eyes.

"But I love you, Helga. So much." Helga closed her eyes, her breath caught in her throat and tears streamed down her face.

"Arnold?" Helga asked quietly, her breathing becoming more and more shallow.

"Yes?"

"Would you sing me... that song?"

Arnold felt more tears stream down his face.

"You are my sunshine... my only sunshine... your make me happy... when skies are gray..."

Helga closed her eyes and simply listened to Arnold's voice.

"You never know, Dear... how much I love you... please, don't take my sunshine away." Arnold pleaded the last part.

Arnold suddenly noticed that Helga's heart monitor seemed to be getting a little faster with each breath she took.

"Helga?" Arnold gave her a small shake. The monitor slowed again a little. Then a little more.

"Helga?" Arnold shook her again. Her eyes stayed closed. The monitor slowed again. A loud high pitched wail emitted from the monitor as she flat lined.

"Helga! Helga no!" Helga foamed blood from the mouth as she lay unmoving.

The door burst open and three nurses and a doctor rushed in followed by Helga's family.

"What's going on here?" Bob bellowed.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." A male nurse responded. "Security!" He hollered into his walkie-talkie

"The hell I will!"

"Helga? Baby?" Miriam wailed trying to push her way through.

"Mommy, Daddy stop!" Olga cried. "Helga asked me to act in her behalf and respect her wishes. She would like to... have me place a DNR on her behalf."

"DNR? What the hell does that mean?" Bob demanded.

"A DNR is an order to not resuscitate someone in cardiac arrest." The male nurse explained.

"Helga! NO!" Arnold shrieked again as a security officer grabbed him from behind and dragged him out of the room.

"Resusci-what? Speak English!"

"Daddy, Helga wants to die on her own terms."

"Oh no she doesn't! No daughter of mine dies before her father!" Bob wailed as tears streamed down his face.

"It's all legal." Olga sobbed pulling a form out of her pocket.

The door slammed shut.

Arnold sobbed loudly as his grandparents held and attempted to console him. In his hand he clutched Helga's pink ribbon with all his strength. The last piece of her he would ever touch.

Gerald had returned from talking to the police officer sometime while Arnold was with Helga and now sat holding Phoebe as she sobbed into Gerald's chest.

"I-I told her I'd always be there to protect her." Arnold choked. "And I wasn't. I failed her. I killed Helga." Arnold cried harder.

Gertie wiped the tears of anguish from her face and patted her grandson's back.

"Arnold, listen to me." Arnold calmed down a little at hearing his grandmother's voice.

"You were there for Helga ever since the day you met in one form or another. You stood by her side and protected her for the past thirteen years and you were there to give her one last goodbye and let her say what needed to be said to her friends, her family and to you. You can't win every fight, life doesn't work that way, but you gave her what she needed most in this world."

"What's that?" Arnold asked between sobs.

His grandmother smiled warmly. "You're heart, Arnold."

The door finally opened again and Helga's family stumbled out looking lost and morose. Arnold rose to his feet, hoping that perhaps they had called off the DNR.

Olga spotted him and pulled him into a shaky embrace.

"Thank you for everything you did for my baby sister." Olga sniffled. "It means more to me than you will ever know." She began crying again and hobbled away sobbing noisily.

Miriam touched Arnold's cheek and attempted a smile, but it came out forced and somber.

"Thank you." She whispered before following her now only child down the hall.

Bob also approached Arnold. He looked worn and tired and like he had aged twenty years in the last several minutes.

"Helga and I have never seen eye to eye. She's stubborn, bull-headed and frankly too much like me, which is why we never got along. Both Miriam and I were so focused on all the greatness that Olga could achieve and was achieving that we missed out on getting to know Helga for who and what she was." His voice cracked a little as he spoke. "Well, I guess what I'm trying to say is...thank you. Thank you for being there to know Helga and look out for her when I didn't."

Bob rested his hand on Arnold's shoulder in a tender, but held back fashion. He turned to walk away, but suddenly stopped and wrapped Arnold in a desperate, awkward hug.

"Thank you Oswa- er, Arnold."

The Pataki patriarch walked away with his head hung low and his usual domineering air vanished.

Grandpa placed a warm, comforting hand on Arnold's shoulder.

"Come on, Short Man. Let's go home."

Arnold nodded not really feeling up to any sort of protest.

"Gerald, Phoebe? Do you need a ride?"

Gerald sniffed and nodded slowly. He gently pulled Phoebe away from him and she clung to his arm to steady herself while they walked.

The group pushed through the entrance of the hospital only to be stopped dead in their tracks by what they saw.

All of Helga and Arnold's friends had gathered at the hospital, each dressed in black and each holding a small tea candle.

Bob, Miriam and Olga too had stopped when they saw the sight.

"Helga was brave." Sid said before he lit his candle and placed it on the ground.

"Helga was a treasure." Nadine squeaked out before lighting her candle and placing it next to Sid's.

"Helga was beautiful." Brainy sputtered through tears.

"Helga was ever so passionate." Lila sniffed.

"Helga was strong." Harold blubbered before loudly crying again.

"Helga was a rarity." Rhonda frowned and wiped away her mascara tracks.

"Helga was accepting." Eugene whimpered pitifully.

"Helga was quite the thespian." Sheena whispered.

Bob narrowed his eyes at the comment and Olga quickly leaned over to him.

"It means actress." she whispered.

Bob relaxed.

"Helga was a down to earth." Stinky choked.

"Helga was crazy, but in a good way." Curly said with a sad smile.

"Helga was terribly, terribly cool." Peapod Kid mumbled.

"Helga was one in a million." Iggy finished.

Gerald stepped forward.

"Helga was dependable." He added, placing his lit cell phone down in the circle.

"Helga was a true friend." Phoebe supplied placing her phone near Gerald's.

Arnold stepped up as well. He turned his phone over in his hand for a moment before looking each of his friends in the eye and finally spoke.

"Helga was... the love of my life."

With that Arnold place his phone so it connected Gerald's and Phoebe's.

The completed symbol made a circle with the phones forming the letter "H".

**Author's Note: Please excuse me while I find some tissues. One chapter to go.  
>I would also like to do a Q&amp;A at the end of the next chapter for any questions anyone has about the characters, the plot, whatever, so PM me your questions or add them in your reviews.<strong>

**See you all in the next (and final) chapter. :)**


	13. Chapter 13

A week had passed since Helga's funeral and honestly, the last few weeks had really just faded into a big blur.

Arnold could remember eating something his grandma had thrown together, going to bed and then waking up in the middle of the night crying. He had had several phone calls in the last three weeks, but all of them had been fielded by his grandmother kindly telling each person that Arnold wasn't interested in talking to anyone just now.

Arnold hadn't even seen Gerald since the funeral. Gerald had been spending a lot of time with Phoebe who was in deep mourning over the loss of her best friend. They had also been spending much of their time over at the Pataki's likely consoling the family of three.

Arnold wasn't bothered by it. He knew Phoebe needed Gerald right now and that was ok by him, besides, Arnold was perfectly content being alone at present.

A knock on the door alerted Arnold to someone's presence. He glanced at the door from his spot on the couch then turned away.

"Short Man?" Grandpa asked concerned for the well being of his ward. Arnold opened his mouth to ask his grandfather to leave him be, but conceded and granted him entrance instead.

"Hey Arnold, how are you feeling today?" Phil asked taking the vacant seat where Arnold's feet had once been.

"I'm...ok I guess." Arnold answered honestly. "It just hurts."

"I know it does, Arnold and you are certainly allowed to grieve, but perhaps you should take a walk outside today. The sun is shining, the birds are singing and I think you could use the fresh air."

"I'm not really in the mood, Grandpa."

Phil placed his hand on Arnold's shoulder and smiled in an understanding way.

"I know you don't really feel up to it, but I think that's all the more reason to."

"Maybe you're right." Arnold caved, not really feeling up to arguing either. He slipped on his shoes, gave his grandfather a quick hug before slipping out the door.

The bright sunshine assaulted Arnold's eyes making him squint and shield himself with his arm. It only took him a moment to get accustomed to the light after spending so much time indoors over the past week.

He walked around aimlessly for a while, without any clear idea of where he was going, but after a several minutes he decided he really needed to see her again.

He hurried passed the park to the graveyard where him and his friends had scared each other senseless all those years ago. In the dark it had been freaky and menacing, but in the daylight it seemed far more inviting. Arnold passed by several headstones, some old, some new. He took his time to look at some of the more interesting ones, an angel laying across the top of an upright stone, two intertwined hearts, a teddy bear, and a large, intricately carved cross. He finally made his way to the large Oak tree on the left where she lie buried beneath the dirt and sod.  
>"Hi Helga." Arnold said out loud as he studied the stone. The granite was smooth and shiny and a small marble angel stood next to an archway on the bottom of the stone.<p>

Arnold rubbed his neck awkwardly before sitting on the ground facing the stone.  
>He looked around awkwardly for a few minutes trying to think of something to say. The wind rustled the leaves of the tree above him sprinkling patches of sunshine across the grass and the stones below.<p>

Arnold turned back to the stone and reached out a hand, gently brushing the cheek of the angel sculpted in Helga's likeness.

"I'm sorry." He finally said. "I know it's kind of meaningless now to say it, but I'm so sorry, Helga." Tears began welling up again, but Arnold fought them back by taking a deep, albeit shaky breath before continuing.

"It's baseball weather today." He began again, changing the subject abruptly. "I'm sure you'd be catcher again. You'd probably throw something at me and call me a football head," Arnold's voice cracked a little as he said Helga's pet name for him. It just didn't sound right coming from anyone else's lips. "but our team would win of course. You always were the best batter." Arnold smiled sadly. "You were always picking on me and calling me names. I wish you would have told me why sooner... We missed out on so much time we could have spent together growing up. Oh God! Not that I'm blaming you or anything." He sputtered suddenly finding his last comment slightly accusatory. "I just, I wish we could have been friends growing up. I wish I could have known more about you. I wish... I could have asked you to marry me someday..." Arnold felt a familiar lump lodge in his throat. "But it's too late now... I'm so sorry, Helga..."

Arnold placed a kiss on the tip of his finger before reaching out and placing the kiss on the small lips of the angel sculpture.

He headed back to the boarding house as the clouds began to roll in from the west. His mind was filled with the 'what if's' of his life and how it would have been different if Helga were still alive.

"Arnold?"

A soft voice caused Arnold to jump.

"I hoped I might find you here." Phoebe said shifting the weight of the large box she struggled to carry.

"Oh, hi Phoebe." Arnold greeted as cheerfully as he could muster.

"I have something for you." Phoebe shifted the box again and held it out to the blonde boy in front of her.

Arnold took the box from the petite girl. It was pretty heavy.

"Helga instructed me that upon her death the contents of this box should be bequeathed to you." Phoebe sobbed suddenly. "Forgive me." She muttered digging out her handkerchief and wiping at her eyes.

Arnold shifted the box onto his hip and pulled Phoebe in for a brief, comforting hug.

"A lot of unanswered question reside in that box, Arnold." Phoebe said as she stepped back from him. "Take good care of them."

Arnold nodded once to ensure Phoebe that he understood and with that, Phoebe turned on her heel and headed down the street.

Arnold put the box down on his bed and slowly removed the lid, not sure what to expect. Inside was a collection of small pink books and sitting prominently atop them was a letter addressed to Arnold in Helga's handwriting.

Arnold carefully opened the envelope and unfolded the paper inside.

_Dear Arnold,_

_I'm sorry there's not more to this letter than what I have written on this single piece of loose-leaf, but I figured I would let the contents of the box speak for itself. I don't have much time left. By that I mean, you left the classroom only a few minutes ago to use the restroom and will be back any second, but I've made my mind up on the matter and have instructed Phoebe that on the event of my death that this box should be given to you. If anyone else gets ahold of this box while I'm still living, I don't know who you are, but I will find you and I will kill you._

_Until we meet again, Arnold._

_Au revoir_

_Helga G. Pataki_

Arnold smiled. It was so like Helga to threaten a complete stranger with an untimely death. He chuckled to himself as he placed the letter back in the envelope and pulled out one of the pink books.

It reminded him of something he'd seen before. He looked it over for a moment before he began to flip through it.

_Arnold, you idiot,  
>I've always sworn it<br>I've always loved you  
>My darling, my darling.<br>Kiss me, my darling,  
>Oh so shamed, my Prometheus,<br>Wandering the dismal deserts of my tormented soul_

Arnold frowned for a moment in confusion.

_Poetry? About me?_

A feeling of déjà vu washed over him as he turned the page.

_Cowlicks, like fields of yellow corn,  
>All the days of my week,<br>I write the name I dare not speak.  
>The boy with the cornflower hair,<br>My beloved, and my despair._

Arnold's head suddenly snapped up in realization.

"No way!" He tossed the book onto the bed before digging in his closet for a few moments, tossing various objects out as he did so.

"Aha!" He shouted as he stumbled over a few sweaters and odd mementos with a small shoe box in his hands.

He removed the lid from his own box and began to shuffle through old photos of his parents, his childhood and random keepsakes before he found what he had been searching for.

Arnold held up an identical pink book in his hand. He flipped it open and scanned the handwriting in it, comparing the two books.

It was hers! It had been Helga's all along!

"How could I have been so oblivious?"

He set the books aside and peered into the box Phoebe had given him.

"A fourth grade math book?" Arnold eyed it for a moment. A small neon sticker was poking out of the top. He flipped to the corresponding page to find some sort of small sculpture arranged from various classroom bits and ends.

It seemed to resemble a person who Arnold felt he should know, but for some reason he just couldn't place it. He traced one of the pencils with his finger before scratching his head in confusion and placing the book on top of the others he had pulled from the box.

Next he pulled out an envelope addressed to Helga in strange handwriting. He opened the card inside and scanned it carefully.

_Dear Ms. Pataki,_

_Thanks again for helping me out with those Nancy Spumoni snow boots for my daughter. They fit perfectly and she could not have been happier._

_Best wishes,_

_Mr. Bailey_

_Federal Office of Information_

"The snow boots Mr. Bailey wanted to help us find Mr. Hyuhn's daughter, Mai! Helga gave them to him..." Arnold smiled. "She had been my angel that year. Looking out for me and helping me get the one thing I wanted more than anything else."

Arnold felt a warmth spread through him as he remembered that Christmas so many years ago and how Helga helped his without his knowledge.

He put the snowman emblazoned card back in the envelope before digging again with gusto into the box.

What he saw next made a large lump catch in his throat.  
>He gingerly reached down and pulled out a single red high-heeled shoe. He held the slightly scuffed shoe in his shaking hands and bit his lip tightly as tears began to fall.<p>

He choked back a sob as he held the shoe to his chest allowing his gaze to raise up to the menacing clouds covering the sky above him.

He inhaled a shaky breath and exhaled it as he reached into his own box revealing the matching shoe.

Arnold released the words on his tongue as the first raindrop pattered against the widow."Cecile. She was Cecile."

Arnold dropped to the ground soaked and out of breath after running the several blocks back to Helga's grave stone, tears growing cold on his cheeks.

"Why?" Arnold questioned, gasping for breath. "Why didn't you tell me you were Cecile?" His voice trembled. "Do you know how in love I was with the girl who pretended to be my pen-pal, but never revealed her identity? It had been you all along!"

"Arnold?" The warm hand accompanying the voice startled Arnold and he whirled around. Gerald and Phoebe stood behind him under the large Oak tree that shielded them all from the rain.

Arnold wiped his eyes with his sleeve before looking back up at his friends.

"Why didn't she tell me any of this herself?" Arnold directed his question at Phoebe. She frowned a little at seeing Arnold's despair.

"Oh Arnold, she wanted to so desperately, but she was so afraid. Afraid of the world, of her own feelings for you and more than anything else she was afraid that you'd reject her. Not that it has anything to do with you, simply her own insecurities."

Arnold nodded as Gerald placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"And you loved her, Man. She couldn't have asked for anything more than that."

"You were everything to her, Arnold." Phoebe continued, "She would have given anything for you to be happy."

Arnold's mind wandered back to the contents of the box he had received and all the loose ends that had come together from its contents. His mouth pulled into a small smile.

"I know."

AN: Just wanted to tie up some loose ends. Sorry this chapter is a bit shorter, but check out the epilogue. It's definitely one of my favorite chapters. :)


	14. Epilogue

It was a warm and sunny day in late April. A few fluffy, white clouds dotted the sky as the Packard pulled to a stop on the small gravel trail. A football shaped head appeared over the top of the old green car as the man to which the head belonged stepped out.

The back door of the Packard swung open with gusto as a little girl with strawberry blonde hair leapt out and spread her arms wide as she ran around making airplane noises, her sky-blue jumper flouncing with each step.

Arnold smiled at her before making his way to a familiar head stone under a large Oak.

It had been a while since the last time he'd been in Hillwood and he felt it was only appropriate to greet some old friends while he was here.

He placed a bouquet of daisies on the ground as he carefully knelt down on the cool grass, careful to not get a grass-stain on his suit pants.

"Hi Helga. It's been a while." He whispered, his voice deeper than it had been the first time he came to see this stone. "I suppose you're wondering why I'm here." Arnold smiled sadly at the teenage angel carved out of marble.

"You remember Gerald's sister, Timberly, right? We're in town for her wedding and I figured I'd swing by and see how you were doing."

Arnold shifted so he was sitting Indian-style before continuing. "I also thought I'd let you know I've been keeping tabs on your family. Olga is staring in another movie. It's coming out sometime next year. We're all pretty excited about it."

"Oh! I almost forgot, Gerald and Phoebe are pregnant again. It's about time their son had a sibling to pummel."

Arnold chuckled half-heartedly He could hear the child-made airplane sputtering out of control and attempting to let out the landing gear which was apparently stuck.

Arnold smiled at the noise before turning back to the headstone.

"Helga, I told you I'd always be there for you, that I'd always protect you...I failed." Arnold absent-mindedly picked at a blade of grass. "I guess what I came here to say was, I'm so sorry Helga. I failed you... I'm so sorry."

"Arnold, I'm oh so certain we should be going." A very pregnant Lila called from the front seat.

"Alright." Arnold called back. He rolled onto his haunches to stand up, but paused for a moment to place a kiss on the tip of his finger and giving it to the pure white angel statue.

Arnold rose to his feet and began making his way back to the car. He glanced to the side to see his daughter with a crown of dandelions perched on her head, giggling wildly about something.

"Come along, Geraldine." Arnold called.

"Coming, Daddy!" Geraldine ran after her father and clasp his hand.

They walked in relative silence for a moment before Geraldine started giggling again.

"What's so funny?" Her father inquired curiously.

"You're a football head." She snickered in reply.

Arnold felt his heart skip a beat on hearing his old pet name again.

"What makes you say that?"

"The pretty lady told me so."

Arnold frowned for a moment as there was no one else around.

"What pretty lady?"

"The pretty lady over there." She pointed to the spot she had been sitting only moments ago. Arnold saw nothing.

"There's no one there." Arnold informed his precocious child.

Geraldine smiled wide, showing a missing tooth.

"She said you'd say that. She told me to give this to you when you did."

Geraldine held her hand out. Curious, Arnold held his underneath to receive the item in his daughter's hand.

He felt something soft touch his palm.

In his hand was a tattered ribbon in a signature shade of pink he hadn't seen in a long time.

Before he could stop them the tears began to stream down his face.

Geraldine looked puzzled and concerned.

"Daddy, did I make you cry?"

Arnold shook his head as he wiped his tears away.

"No sweetie. We'd better go. Your mother is waiting for us."

"And baby Phil!" Geraldine squealed.

"Yes," Arnold chuckled, "and baby Phil."

Arnold once again took his daughter's hand in his and headed for the car. Before climbing in Geraldine looked behind her and with and exaggerated wave, said goodbye to the pretty lady.

Arnold turned his head and once again saw nothing. He looked down at the ribbon in his hand and felt a weight lift off his shoulder as a smiled crept across his face.

On the ribbon was a small scrawl in dark pink ink:

_Thank you, Football Head._


End file.
